Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Bob Chapek Memoir 'Behind The Castle Walls' Gets Fall Release
Bob Chapek used to be the boss of Disney, the company that makes movies and runs big theme parks.
He worked there for thirty years.
In 2020, he became the very top boss, called the CEO.
Right then, a sickness called COVID-19 spread around the world and made Disney close its parks, theaters, and cruise ships.
His time as boss was very hard, and he made some people angry.
He got into a public disagreement with an actress named Scarlett Johansson and upset people by how he reacted to a new law in Florida.
In 2022, he lost his job, and his old boss, Bob Iger, came back.
Bob Chapek wrote a book to tell his side of the story for the first time.
The book, called 'Behind The Castle Walls,' will come out on September 29.
Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, will publish Bob Chapek's memoir 'Behind The Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth' on September 29.
The memoir is the first time Chapek publicly addresses the corporate drama of his Disney tenure, from his 2020 appointment as CEO to his dismissal in 2022.
Chapek began at Disney in 1993 as marketing director for Home Entertainment and later served as president of Consumer Products and chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products.
His tenure included a public fight with Scarlett Johansson and backlash from employees and Gov. Ron DeSantis over his response to Florida's 'Don't Say Gay' bill.
The publisher's blurb says Chapek wondered whether he had become 'the scapegoat' after Bob Iger returned as CEO in 2022.
- Who
- Bob Chapek, former Disney CEO, with publisher Gallery Books (a division of Simon & Schuster).
- What
- The release of Chapek's memoir 'Behind The Castle Walls' recounting his 30-year Disney career and his 2020-2022 tenure as CEO.
- When
- Publication is set for September 29; the memoir covers events from his 2020 appointment to his 2022 dismissal.
- Where
- The story centers on The Walt Disney Company, with Chapek's personal background in small-town Indiana, Indiana University, and Michigan State.
- Why
- Chapek aims to tell his side of the corporate drama for the first time after being dismissed as CEO in 2022.
Chapek's perspective
Board and critics' perspective
Who is to blame for Disney's struggles
Chapek's perspective
Chapek says the stakes were high, the decisions unforgiving, and the backlash often inordinate, leaving him to wonder whether he had become the scapegoat.
Board and critics' perspective
His management decisions alienated key executives, and activist investor Nelson Peltz used Chapek's board backing as ammunition in a proxy fight before he was ousted in 2022.
Bob Iger's role in Chapek's tenure
Chapek's perspective
Chapek was undermined from the start by an unusual arrangement in which Iger stayed on as executive chairman and retained control over creative endeavors.
Board and critics' perspective
Iger handpicked Chapek as his successor in February 2020 and returned as CEO in 2022 after Chapek was dismissed.
- Book title
- Behind The Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth
- Author
- Bob Chapek
- Publisher
- Gallery Books (Simon & Schuster)
- Publication date
- September 29
- Disney career
- 1993-2022 (30 years)
- CEO tenure
- February 2020 - 2022
- Education
- Indiana University; MBA from Michigan State
- Predecessor and successor
- Succeeded Bob Iger in 2020; replaced by Iger in 2022