Alan Horn To Retire As Disney Studios' Chief Creative Officer

[Animous]

Chief creative officer at Disney, Alan Horn, is retiring at the end of 2021. Alan Horn is one of the most trusted names in Hollywood, as he is a producer known for his strong working relationship with filmmakers. His time as COO of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2011 was where he oversaw successful film franchises like the Harry Potter series, The Hobbit trilogy, and Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.

Disney CEO famously got Horn to come out of retirement to join Disney in 2012 after Horn was forced out of Warner Bros. by then-CEO Jeff Bewkes. Horn joined Disney in 2012 and served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios where he helped the studio recover from a string of high-profile flops under Rich Ross. In 2020, Horn was appointed Chief Creative Officer while Alan Bergman became chairman. Under his leadership, Horn saw a successful period of feature films including overseeing the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a Disney property starting with The Avengers, the revival of the Star Wars franchise, and the new age of Disney animation with hit films like Frozen, Zootopia, and Moana.

RELATED: Disney's Insane Box Office Reign Began In 2012 (Because Of Paramount)

According to Deadline, Horn is set to retire as the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios effective December 31, 2021. The report states his position is not to be filled or replaced as the various creative heads at Disney like Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige, Lucasfilm Ltd. Kathleen Kennedy, Pixar Animations' Pete Doctor, Disney Animations' Jennifer Lee, and more have a certain level of creative autonomy. Horn released an official statement regarding his departure that can be read below:

“It has been my great privilege and pleasure to be able to spend these past 50 years helping creative people tell stories that move, entertain, and connect audiences around the world – and a dream come true to have the chance to do it at Disney, no less. I’m deeply thankful to Bob Iger for the opportunity he gave me and to Alan Bergman for being an incredible partner throughout this adventure, as well as to Bob Chapek for his steady leadership during these unprecedented times. I also must recognize the extraordinary leaders of our individual studios as well as our business teams and every single one of our fantastic team members. It’s never easy to say goodbye to a place you love, which is why I’ve done it slowly, but with Alan Bergman leading the way, I’m confident the incredible Studios team will keep putting magic out there for years to come.”

Horn's career at Disney is no doubt successful, as in the nine years with the company twenty of Disney's films passed the $1 billion mark, and twelve of those films are in the top twenty films of all time. He secured Disney the biggest grossing domestic release (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), the biggest global grossing film (Avengers: Endgame), the biggest animated grossing film domestically (Incredibles 2), and the biggest animated film globally (Frozen 2). In 2016, the studio became the first studio to gross $3 billion at the domestic box office. This is a far cry from the studio, who at the turn of 2010, had suffered high-profile flops like Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Mars Needs Moms, and John Carter.

Horn's departure from Disney comes at a major time of transition for the studio. In the wake of Bob Iger's departure from the studio and new CEO, Bob Chapek ,taking control, there has been a growing concern that the studio will prioritize data and profit over the working relationship and creativity of the people that work at Disney. Horn was always known for his good working relationship with talent and trusting the filmmakers and creatives everywhere he worked. Horn helped shaped the identity of what Disney is to a modern film audience, making it one of the biggest studios in the world. Horn is leaving the studio's film division in a better place than when he found it, and his Midas touch will certainly be missed, but the hope will be that Disney continues to learn the right lessons he imparted

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