March 28, 2026

• less than 3 min read

New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro may have accidentally wished upon a monkey paw instead of a star. It’s only been a week and a half since he took over for Bob Iger, but that was more than enough time for things to get goofy, as the company has dealt with a trifecta of setbacks in TV, AI, and gaming.

Less than 24 hours after D’Amaro took over, a domestic violence scandal involving The Bachelorette star Taylor Frankie Paul derailed the new season of the show before it even aired on Disney-owned ABC. Five days later, D’Amaro’s dream of a more interactive and immersive Disney experience was hit with a one-two punch:

• OpenAI suddenly said sayonara to Sora, its popular AI video-generation app, wiping out a planned three-year, $1 billion partnership with Disney that would have allowed users to create videos with the Mouse House’s iconic characters.
• Epic Games, with whom Disney still plans to set up a digital universe, announced it was cutting 1,000+ jobs, citing a drop in engagement with its popular Fortnite game.

The future is D’Amaro: While Disney can always find another AI video partner, the Epic Games development is particularly tough to swallow for D’Amaro, who led the effort to invest $1.5 billion in the gaming company when he was chairman of Disney Experiences in 2024.—BC

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