Bob Iger’s time as Disney CEO ended a few months ago after two decades of leading the entertainment giant through some of its biggest transformations. Now, in an exit interview with the Financial Times, he’s revealing what didn’t work out — and the list is staggering.
Disney came close to buying Twitter from co-founder Jack Dorsey at what Iger called “a very attractive price.” That was before Elon Musk bought the platform in 2022 and rebranded it as X. Iger had plans to turn Twitter into something bigger, though he didn’t detail what those were.
Disney also got snubbed by Apple. Iger didn’t say exactly what the approach was, but the implication is clear: Disney wanted something Apple had, and Apple said no.
And then there’s James Bond. Disney lost out on the franchise — one of the most valuable entertainment properties in the world. Iger didn’t elaborate on how far the discussions got, but the fact that Disney was even in the running shows how ambitious the company’s expansion plans were under his watch.
What’s striking is the pattern. Iger spent two decades transforming Disney through acquisitions — Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, 21st Century Fox. Now it’s clear he was swinging for even bigger fences, and coming up short on several of them.
