Star Wars and Indiana Jones maker George Lucas has come out in favour of chief executive Bob Iger as a heated battle around Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS, ETR:WDP)’s leadership continues.
Ahead of a vote on April 3 over the entertainment giant’s board members, set to determine whether activist investors Trian Fund Management and Blackwells Capital secure leadership roles at Disney, Lucas said on Tuesday that he would back existing directors.
“Creating magic is not for amateurs,” he said in a statement.
“When I sold Lucasfilm just over a decade ago, I was delighted to become a Disney shareholder because of my long-time admiration for its iconic brand and Bob Iger’s leadership.”
A proxy battle has emerged at Disney after Trian, headed by Nelson Peltz, and Blackwells have built stakes in the company in recent years with the ultimate aim of securing seats in its boardroom to reinvigorate what they see as a struggling firm.
Each have put forward two and three candidates to become directors respectively ahead of April’s meeting, with Disney’s board ultimately made up of 12 members.
As per Trian, Disney has been slow to adapt to changes in the steaming market and faces a “leadership void” with Iger’s planned departure in 2026.
Iger himself had served as long-term Disney chief executive up until his retirement in 2020, but later rejoined at the helm in 2022.
“When Bob recently returned to the company during a difficult time, I was relieved,” Lucas continued in his statement. “No one knows Disney better.”
Questions around Disney’s strategy have also been raised though, with Blackwells previously calling for its park and hotel assets to be spun off and technology to be better harnessed.
This is as shares in the company have receded from 2021’s all-time highs of almost US$200, though steady gains have come since late last year.
Disney has hit back at questions over its strategy in the meantime, last week releasing details on how much value the Marvel and Lucasfilm franchises have added since being acquired in 2009 and 2012 respectively.
Though it is unclear how much stock Lucas owns in Disney, he had received US$4 billion through the sale of Lucasfilm to Disney, which included around US$1.8 billion in shares.
“I remain a significant shareholder because I have full faith and confidence in the power of Disney and Bob’s track record of driving long-term value,” Lucas added.
“I have voted all of my shares for Disney’s 12 directors and urge other shareholders to do the same.”
Disney climbed 0.9% to US$114.82 on Tuesday.