The Beat has learned that publisher and president Dan Buckley has announced to staff that he is stepping down from his position.
His replacement and a new leadership structure at the publisher will be announced by Kevin Feige.
UPDATE: Marvel has announced a new leadership team consisting of Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum and Disney Publishing Exec David Abdo as General/Manager Comics & Franchise. Via Marvel:
Marvel Studios executive Brad Winderbaum will join as Head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise. He will oversee the creative direction of Marvel’s expansive publishing portfolio, as well as Marvel’s global brand and franchise efforts, in addition to his current role overseeing television and animation. Joining Marvel from Disney, David Abdo will serve as General Manager, Comics & Franchise, reporting to Winderbaum. After a near 30-year career with Marvel, Dan Buckley, longtime head of Comics & Franchise, has announced his plans to depart. Buckley will remain at Marvel through mid-2027 to support the leadership transition.
“Brad’s exceptional creative leadership and David’s deep experience in operations and digital innovation will be a powerful pairing as we begin building out the next 90 years of Marvel’s comic book legacy,” said Kevin Feige, President, Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer, Marvel. “Brad brings a proven ability to lead creative teams and craft ongoing, episodic narratives that resonate with our fans around the world, while David offers a strong track record of operational excellence and strategic growth. I’m excited for what they’ll be able to do together.”
Brad Winderbaum is the Emmy Award-winning Head of Marvel Television and Marvel Animation, overseeing Marvel’s diverse slate of live-action and animated series for Disney+. He has served as an executive producer on all Marvel Studios shows including Hawkeye, Loki season 2, Agatha: All Along, Daredevil: Born Again, X-Men ’97, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Winderbaum joined Marvel Studios during the production of the company’s first theatrical release, Iron Man, going on to become an executive producer on Thor: Ragnarok and Black Widow. C.B. Cebulski, Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, will report to Winderbaum.
David Abdo is a strategic and results-focused executive with digital expertise and 20+ years of leadership experience transforming and building media businesses. Abdo was most recently General Manager, Disney Music Group, responsible for the day-to-day management of Disney’s global music division. In that role, he led significant expansion in the division’s revenue, resources, and output, achieving multiple record-breaking profit years.
Regarding Buckley’s departure announcement, Feige said, “From events like Civil War, Secret Wars, X-Men: Age of Krakoa, and the soon to be released Marvel Midnight imprint, to the expansion into video games, television, animation, and more, Marvel’s influence on popular culture expanded under Dan’s leadership, bringing our characters and stories to new fans around the world. Dan has left a lasting mark on Marvel’s legacy and on the comics industry, and I’m deeply grateful to him and pleased we will have his full support through this transition.”
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Buckley sent a letter to staff this morning reading:
To my friends and colleagues at Marvel,
I am reaching out to share some personal news. After much consideration and conversations with both my family and Kevin, I am making plans to step away from Marvel.
I’ve had a relationship with Marvel for a very long time, and I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve all built together over the last 30 years. Marvel has given so much to me, and I’m grateful to have been able to give so much back to it.
I truly believe it’s the characters – and, most importantly, the people who bring them to life — that have always made Marvel great. So, to you all I say, thank you. Thank you for making stories that matter to you, to us, and to the world outside our window. As I have often discussed with Kevin and others, you represent the best of the business, and I know we will keep pushing to embrace new ideas that excite fans and engage new readers. I am confident the editorial and publishing roadmap we have set will accomplish that and so much more.
Marvel has been a huge part of my life, and it will continue to be, just in a new way.
Kevin will share more on the new leadership structure very soon. And I will remain on through mid-2027 to help with the transition.
Take care,
Dan
Buckley had been president of Marvel since 2017, after along career at that publisher and Fleer trading cards. Since he began reporting to Kevin Feige as part of Marvel Studios, his title has been President of Marvel Comics and Franchise. He’s steered Marvel through some of their greatest successes – the rise of the MCU – and greatest challenges – thepandemic and move away from Diamond.
Along with the departure of VP of Sales and Marketing David Gabriel this month, this leave Marvel Comics the publishing company in unknown territory – and given Kevin Feige’s role in announcing a replacement, possibly more integrated into Disney publishing.
This is a developing story and we will update as more information become available.
