D23 is always a week for Disney news, but two stories that surfaced on August 12, 2026, were not on my Disney bingo card.
Current and future owners of the Los Angeles Lakers.
The two items may seem unrelated, but perhaps they are not. First: former Disney CEO Bob Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner have agreed to buy the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking $12.5 billion, the highest valuation for a sports team in U.S. history. As a longtime Lakers fan, I wish Bob Iger and his partners good luck.
Former CEO of The Walt Disney Company Bob Chapek.
The second item is even more unexpected: Simon & Schuster has announced a memoir by Bob Chapek. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the book, Behindthe Castle Walls, will be released in September and will address Chapek’s tenure at Disney and Bob Iger’s return. Written with Don Yaeger, it is scheduled to be published September 20.
“Behind the Castle Walls” available beginning September 20, 2026.
Chapek became CEO of The Walt Disney Company just weeks before COVID-19 changed the world, and his time leading the company was brief compared withpast Disney CEOs. I worked for him while serving as an Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, and I was familiar with his earlier work at Disney. As The Hollywood Reporter notes, “Chapek is ready to tell his story, sharing what he hopes will be his true legacy.”
D23 will have to deliver something big to top either of these stories.
Disney Journey Blog 