Ousted Disney CEO Bob Chapek Tells His Side in Forthcoming Memoir
Bob Chapek, the Disney chief executive who was pushed out after less than three years in the job, has written a memoir detailing his time inside the company. Titled Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth, the 272-page book is set for release on September 29, 2026, from Simon & Schuster's Gallery Books imprint, according to Variety Variety.
The memoir promises to reveal, for the first time, the high-stakes manoeuvring behind the scenes from Chapek's appointment as CEO in February 2020 through to his dismissal in November 2022. That period covered the pandemic's shutdown of Disney's parks and film releases, a bruising public fight with Scarlett Johansson over the streaming release of Black Widow, and a succession drama that captivated Hollywood.
Chapek's path to the top was a long climb. He joined the Walt Disney Company in 1993 as marketing director for home entertainment, back when VHS tapes still drove that business. Over the decades he rose through president of Disney Consumer Products and then chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products — the division that runs the theme parks and merchandise lines Disney is famous for. Bob Iger hand-picked Chapek as his successor, handing him the CEO role in February 2020 Variety.
The tenure was short. In November 2022, the Disney board ousted Chapek and called Iger back into service as chief executive — a return that itself became a recurring story, as Iger's own departure date moved more than once. Iger finally stepped down as CEO in March 2026 and was replaced by Josh D'Amaro, a former parks division head who had been seen as a likely candidate Variety.
For Disney watchers, the book offers something rare: a first-person account from the CEO who lost the job. Chapek has largely stayed out of public view since his departure, and the memoir's promised disclosure of internal decision-making — from boardroom politics to the business of running a company that touches film, television, streaming and theme parks — will give readers a perspective that has not been heard before.
Gallery Books, the publisher, is an imprint of Simon & Schuster with a track record of high-profile non-fiction. The September 29 release date places the book firmly in the autumn publishing season, when publishers slot titles they expect to perform strongly through the year-end holidays.
