Marvel Chairman Who Opposed Women in the MCU and ‘Black Panther,’ and Preferred an “All-White” Avengers, Sells Entire Disney Stake

In recent months, a proxy battle unfolded at Disney involving former Marvel chairman Ike Perlmutter and Nelson Peltz, who sought to secure two seats on Disney’s board. Peltz’s activist campaign, which began in January, aimed to place both himself and Rasulo on the board.

Despite pledging his shares to Peltz, Disney won the shareholders’ vote in April, with Peltz receiving only about 30% of the needed votes and Rasulo losing by a wide margin. Subsequently, Perlmutter sold his entire 25.6 million-share stake in Disney, according to The Wall Street Journal. Perlmutter’s spokesperson declined to comment.

For many of you, that name might not ring any bells, but it’s worth noting that both he and Peltz have been active in pushing for the MCU to become “less woke.”

Both Peltz and Perlmutter have been vocal opponents of increased diversity and representation in the MCU, as reflected in some of their statements. Peltz made headlines earlier this year for his comments, expressing that he isn’t interested in “Marvel movies” featuring an all-female or all-black cast.

Why do I have to have a Marvel [movie] that’s all women? Not that I have anything against women, but why do I have to do that? Why can’t I have Marvels that are both? Why do I need an all-Black cast?

Perlmutter, on the other hand, will be remembered as someone who opposed both ‘Black Panther’ and ‘Captain Marvel,’ two of the most profitable films in the MCU. He frequently clashed with Bob Iger, and as revealed in Iger’s memoir, if they had heeded Perlmutter’s advice, those movies might never have been made.

We had a chance to make a great movie and to showcase an underrepresented segment of America, and those goals were not mutually exclusive. I called Ike and told him to tell his team to stop putting up roadblocks and ordered that we put both Black Panther and Captain Marvel into production.

Perlmutter is also reported to have wanted the Avengers to consist of white middle-aged men and opposed Black Widow joining the team.

Have any thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below!