Meet the power players of the Disney-Fox merger, who will steer the biggest entertainment franchises in the world

Bob Iger — Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company

Under Bob Iger's leadership, Disney has snatched up impressive assets such as Pixar (2006), Marvel (2009), and Lucasfilm (2012), bringing the worlds of Iron Man, Buzz Lightyear, and Luke Skywalker into the Disney pantheon.

Iger became CEO in 2005 after serving as Disney's Chief Operating Officer for five years. He was previously chairman of the ABC Group and president of Walt Disney International.

Now, Iger can add one more grand acquisition to his legacy: Fox. In 2017, he extended his contract through December 2021 in order to oversee the merger and transition — and put to rest any presidential rumors in the process.

"He’s refined the business," Rupert Murdoch, executive co-chairman of Fox, told Time in October. "He built this thing around reliable franchises, whether it’s with Pixar, with Lucasfilm or with Marvel, which then play right into the theme parks and everything."

Former Disney president Michael Ovitz told Time that Iger is "quiet and strong and doesn’t pound the table, but he gets his point across."

But the biggest test for Iger's run as CEO is looming. On top of the implementation of Fox's film studio and many of its television assets, Disney is also launching its own streaming service later this year to compete with the likes of Netflix, called Disney+.

Peter Rice — Chairman of Walt Disney Television and co-chair of Disney Media Networks

Peter Rice, who became president of 21st Century Fox in September 2017, will become chairman of Walt Disney Television once the Disney-Fox merger closes, as well as co-chair of Disney Media Networks alongside James Pitaro (he'll replace Ben Sherwood, who will exit once the merger closes).

At that point, he'll be in charge of the combined television assets of Disney and Fox: ABC, Freeform, The Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD, Fox, FX, and National Geographic Channel.

Disney will rely on Rice to improve ABC and Disney Channel, and to find shows that might lure viewers to Hulu (which Disney owns the majority of) and Disney's upcoming streaming service, according to The New York Times.

"His support can feel like prevailing winds in your sails," "Juno" and "Up In The Air" director Jason Reitman told the Times. "I’ve never had an unthoughtful conversation with him."

Prior to becoming president of 21st Century Fox, Rice was the chairman of Fox Networks Group, overseeing its television assets, and before that, was president of Fox Searchlight, the company's movie division that focuses on indie film.

Dana Walden — Chairman of Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment

Walden will move from her role as chairman of Fox TV Group into another major television role once at Disney, where she'll be the chairman of Disney TV Studios and ABC Entertainment.

Walden will report to Rice, and oversee ABC, Freeform, 20th Century Fox TV, Fox 21 TV Studios, ABC Studios, and ABC Signature Studios, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She was named THR's 2018 Women in Entertainment Executive of the Year.

"Dana's a ridiculously fast study with fantastic instincts," Gary Newman, Walden's longtime partner at Fox, told THR. "The challenge for her in [this next phase] will be delegating. Her instincts are to do things herself because she's so good at it, but if she can rely on the people underneath her, and I think she can, she's going to knock it out of the park over there."

Walden told THR in December that she thought "long and hard" about following superstar showrunner Ryan Murphy to Netflix, but ultimately decided against it (Murphy signed an exclusive, five-year $300 million deal with the streaming giant in 2018 after years of creating successful TV shows at Fox that included "Glee" and "American Horror Story").

Karey Burke — President of ABC Entertainment

Burke recently replaced former ABC president Channing Dungey, who announced her departure in November ahead of the Disney-Fox merger closing and as Fox executives like Rice and Walden were announced to lead the combined television assets.

Burke was formerly the head of original programming for Disney's Freeform since 2014, so she's not coming from Fox. She will report to Walden.

"Over the past four years at Freeform, and throughout her career, Karey has proven herself a gifted leader with a strong track record of developing unique programming," Iger said in a statement when Burke was appointed. "Karey’s attention to, and intimate knowledge of, the audience, and a commitment to quality will be a great addition to the creative team at ABC."

Dungey, the first African American to lead a broadcast network, was tapped as Netflix's new VP of original content in December.

More television power players

Reporting to Rice:

John Landgraf — Chairman of FX Networks and FX Productions

Gary Knell — Chairman of National Geographic Partners

Gary Marsh — President and CCO of Disney Channels Worldwide

James Goldston — President of ABC News

Reporting to Walden:

Tom Ascheim — President of Freefrom

Patrick Moran — President of ABC Studios

Bert Salke — President of Fox 21 TV Studios

Wendy McMahon — President of ABC Owned Television Stations Group

Howard Kurtzman and Jonathan Davis — Co-presidents of 20th Century Fox TV

Alan Horn — Chairman of Walt Disney Studios

Horn will remain in his key role as chairman of Walt Disney Studios, where he's overseen the development, production, and marketing of all of Disney's film properties since 2012, including its Disney and Pixar animated movies, and Marvel and "Star Wars" movies.

Horn was with Warner Bros. before Disney, where he was president and Chief Operating Officer from 1999 to 2011, when he was unexpectedly pushed out despite a string of hits during his tenure, including the "Harry Potter" franchise.

"Hiring Alan was the equivalent of a team signing the greatest free agent on the market, and we were very lucky that he was a free agent," Iger told The New York Times in 2014.

Horn has been more modest about his time at Disney, and seems to have left his departure from Warner Bros. behind him.

"I’m just a janitor with a reel of keys," Horn said in an interview with the Times. "Sometimes all they need me to do is empower them and act in service of them. Every once in a while there is a mess, and I try to help."

Emma Watts — Vice chairman of 20th Century Fox Film

Watts has been with Fox since 1997, and will follow it into the merger with Disney, at which point she'll remain Vice Chairman of 20th Century Fox. She'll Report to Horn.

Watts was also the company's production president, a role she started in 2007 and continued even after being promoted to vice chairman in 2017. She has been essential in reeling in big filmmakers for Fox's key franchises like "X-Men" and the "Planet of the Apes" prequel trilogy, and getting the likes of risky movies like "Deadpool" to theaters.

One notable misfire in her career, though, was Josh Trank's 2015 "Fantastic Four" reboot, which made just $56 million domestically and tanked any plans for a sequel (the characters will be owned by Disney after the merger).

Watts' former boss, 20th Century Fox Film Chairman and CEO Stacey Snider, will not move to Disney. Snider told Variety that she felt "bruised" about being passed over by Disney, but she's also a "right brain/left brain person."

"I can feel bruised, ruminate and feel sorry for myself — trust me, that side of me is very active," Snider said. "The other side of my brain, which contains my analytical skills, is just as active. It helps to run down the facts. Are there a plenitude of other executives to choose from? Yes. Has anyone hip checked or undermined me to prevent me from having an opportunity? No. Is it punishment? No. Is it a condemnation of my work? No. So who am I going to get mad at?"

Jennifer Lee and Pete Docter — CCOs of Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Studios, respectively

Lee and Docter have been tapped to be the creative leads of Disney Animation Studios and Pixar Studios, respectively. Former Chief Creative Officer John Lasseter left his role at the end of 2018, in which he oversaw creative duties for both studios. After admitting to inappropriate behavior toward women in 2017, Lasseter took a six-month sabbatical.

Both Lee and Docter come from the animation world. Lee directed and wrote "Frozen" and its upcoming sequel, and she also wrote "Wreck-It Ralph." "Frozen" grossed $1.3 billion worldwide.

Docter has directed Pixar classics like "Monsters Inc.," "Up," and "Inside Out." He won the best animated feature film Oscar for the latter two.

Lee and Docter will report to Horn, who called them "two of the most gifted filmmakers and storytellers I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with" in a statement when they were announced to replace Lasseter in June.

Ed Catmull, who co-founded Pixar with Lasseter and Steve Jobs, retired from his role as president of Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Studios at the end of 2018. He'll serve as an adviser until July.

Pixar president Jim Morris and Walt Disney Animation Studios president Andrew Millstein will oversee the studio operations while reporting to Walt Disney Studios President Alan Bergman.

Kevin Feige and Kathleen Kennedy — Presidents of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, respectively

Kevin Feige and Kathleen Kennedy will continue to oversee Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, respectively.

Feige is responsible for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which will release three films this year: "Captain Marvel" in March, "Avengers: Endgame" in April, and "Spider-Man: Far From Home" in July.

The MCU's "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Black Panther" were the highest-grossing films of 2018 both worldwide and domestically.

Kennedy is responsible for the "Star Wars" franchise, which hit a speed bump in 2018 with "Solo: A Star Wars Story," which failed to even crack $400 million worldwide. However, the first three "Star Wars" films of the Disney era — "The Force Awakens," "Rogue One" and "The Last Jedi" — all passed $1 billion.

The finale to the new trilogy, "Star War: Episode IX," comes to theaters in December.

More film power players

Reporting to Horn

Steve Gilula and Nancy Utley — Co-presidents of Fox Searchlight

Elizabeth Gabler — President of Fox 2000

Reporting to Horn and Watts

Andrea Miloro and Robert Baird — Co-presidents of Fox Animation

Vanessa Morrison — President of Fox Family