What Will Josh D’Amaro’s Disney Look Like?

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Josh D’Amaro is taking over as Disney’s CEO, and all eyes are on him. Over the next six weeks, everyone will be watching to see how he leads the company after Bob Iger steps down. People are wondering how he’ll manage Disney’s entertainment empire, how he’ll work with Dana Walden (who was also considered for the top job), and what direction he’ll take with Disney’s popular stories and characters, especially since he comes from the parks side of the business and doesn’t have experience making movies or shows. We have some ideas about what might happen.

Will Disney Take Bigger Swings in Streaming?

Look, let’s be honest. Over at Disney’s TV and streaming side, things felt…stuck for a while. Everyone was walking on eggshells, it seemed, while Bob Iger was deciding who would take the reins. No one wanted to make a bold move that might jeopardize their chances at getting the top job. And while they were treading water, their competitors were making massive plays. Comcast restructured and dropped a billion dollars to snag Taylor Sheridan. Paramount started spending aggressively under new ownership, buying up UFC and the creators of Stranger Things. And Netflix? They’re going all in on theatrical releases after acquiring Warner Bros. It’s been a period of huge change, and Disney felt surprisingly…passive.

Now that the leadership change is settled, will Disney’s television and streaming services start taking bigger risks with their programming? While Bob Iger believes Disney doesn’t need to acquire new content – pointing to the 20th Century Fox acquisition as evidence – the company needs more popular scripted shows to complement its successful unscripted programs like The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and the revived Dancing With the Stars. Although ABC’s High Potential is a ratings winner, traditional broadcast shows aren’t very effective at attracting new subscribers to streaming platforms. Finding Disney’s next big streaming hit will be a major focus for creative chief Ala Walden in her new position.

Will Josh and Dana Play Nice?

After a lengthy competition to choose a new CEO in 2013, Kevin Tsujihara quickly removed his rivals at Warner Bros. Bruce Rosenblum left his position at Warner Bros. TV, and Jeff Robinov stepped down as head of the film division. At Disney, leaders believe they’ve prevented internal conflict and a loss of talent by giving Alan Walden more responsibility while pairing him with Ken D’Amaro, who needs someone with strong Hollywood connections to guide creative choices. As a result, Walden is expected to remain with Disney until at least 2030, when his extended contract expires, and potentially beyond.

Disney is often caught in the middle of cultural debates, and it’s not guaranteed that new content chief Walden and CEO D’Amaro will always agree on creative decisions. Disney has never had one person overseeing all creative output, raising questions like whether Walden will influence projects at Lucasfilm or Pixar. With Walden now in charge of a huge range of TV, film, and streaming content, it’s unclear how much independence D’Amaro will allow her—or if the situation will become strained, like it did at Warner Bros.

Who Does Walden’s Old Job?

Disney announced Walden’s promotion alongside the appointment of D’Amaro as CEO, but didn’t clarify how this change would affect its television and streaming operations. Currently, Walden and Alan Bergman jointly lead Disney Entertainment, reporting directly to Iger. After D’Amaro takes the helm, Walden will report to him, and Bergman will report to Walden. Ultimately, Walden will decide whether Bergman becomes the sole chairman of Disney Entertainment or if she’ll choose a new partner to work alongside him.

Alan Bergman doesn’t come from a traditional television background, but he’s been heavily involved with creating content for Disney+ based on Marvel and Star Wars. He also has long-standing relationships with many people in Hollywood, who increasingly work in both film and television. It’s not unusual for someone with a film background to oversee TV as well – Comcast appointed Donna Langley, a former film executive, to lead both their film and TV divisions in 2023. Bergman and Walden work well together, and he was even considered for the CEO position that ultimately went to D’Amaro. Considering Bergman’s success with Disney’s movies, a promotion makes sense. However, it remains to be seen if he wants a larger role and the added challenges that come with it.

If Dana Walden chooses someone to share leadership of Disney Entertainment, she has several good options. Joe Earley, who runs Disney’s streaming services, has been a close advisor to Walden for many years. Like Walden, he comes from a public relations background and understands the creative side of the business, though he doesn’t have extensive experience developing shows at Disney. If she wants someone with that development expertise, she could consider Karey Burke, who leads 20th Television, or Craig Erwich, who runs Hulu and ABC. Both are well-respected in the industry and have worked with Walden for a long time. Another possibility is Debra OConnell, who’s been with Disney for almost 30 years in various roles and recently helped Walden navigate a difficult situation at ABC News.

Can Disney Coax Kids Back to the Movie Theater?

With video game adaptations becoming Hollywood’s new focus, Disney has invested $1.5 billion in Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite. Now, Disney’s Josh D’Amaro is leading a partnership to integrate Marvel, Star Wars, Avatar, Pixar, and Disney characters and content—including character skins—into Fortnite. It’s become increasingly difficult to attract younger audiences (particularly boys born between the late 1990s and early 2010s) to movie theaters. However, Fortnite has proven it can capture their attention, as seen with successful collaborations like the ‘One Battle After Another’ mini-game and an interactive experience for the horror film ‘Talk to Me’. This makes D’Amaro’s job crucial: connecting these digital worlds with the goal of getting young people back to the movies.

How Many Price Hikes Can Disney’s Parks Take?

Since Jeff D’Amaro took over Disney Experiences, guests have faced increasing costs through extra fees and higher prices, especially since the pandemic. The popular, almost-free FastPass system is gone, replaced by Lightning Lane passes that can add over $40 per day to skip lines – and the cost varies depending on the ride. Ticket prices for busy days at parks like Magic Kingdom and Disneyland have also soared, often exceeding $200. While attendance numbers have recently leveled off, or even decreased slightly, Disney has repeatedly raised prices for its streaming services, Disney+ and Hulu. It’s easy to see why Disney likes this approach, but the question is: how much more will customers tolerate before attendance significantly declines? —R.A.

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2026-02-05 02:00