Walt Disney Co on Friday said that remarks by activist investor Nelson Peltz criticizing the company for making movies dominated by female and Black actors is evidence that he shouldn’t be on Disney’s board.
Peltz, whose fight to join Disney as a director has become one of the year’s most bitter and closely watched board battles, in an interview with the Financial Times said Disney’s films have become too focused on delivering a message, and not enough on quality storytelling. He specifically took issue with “The Marvels” and “Black Panther.”
“Why do I have to have a Marvel that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that?" Peltz said in the interview, published on Friday. "Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?”
Asked about Peltz’s remarks, a Disney spokesperson responded: “This is exactly why Nelson Peltz shouldn’t be anywhere near a creatively driven company.”
Why? It’s not like you are forced to watch them
Nobody said we were forced to. I don’t want another one either. They ran superheros into the ground years ago. If they make another, I won’t watch it. They’re exhausting now.
And the movies I like still seem to manage to get financed (Dune, Poor Things…) so I don’t need to care about what Marvel does.
There was a time when it felt like only superhero movies would make it to the cinemas, but it seems they over-did it and people got somewhat tired.