Navigation Drawer
close
Search
Light System Dark
-
Tech
-
Reviews
-
Science
-
Entertainment
-
AI
-
Policy
-
Gadgets
-
Verge Shopping
-
Gaming
-
Streaming
-
Transportation
-
Verge Video
-
Podcasts
Bob Iger’s Disney wanted Apple, Twitter, and 007
Comments Drawer
Comments
- Streaming Streaming Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Streaming
- Business Business Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All Business
- News News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All News
Bob Iger’s Disney wanted Apple, Twitter, and 007
An exit interview with the former Disney CEO confirms the massive deals that got away.
An exit interview with the former Disney CEO confirms the massive deals that got away.
by Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
News Reporter
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Jess Weatherbed
Jun 24, 2026, 10:08 AM UTC
You can’t always get what you want.
Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Variety via Getty Images
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed.
Follow See All by Jess Weatherbed
is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.
Bob Iger’s tenure as CEO of Disney came to an end a few months ago, after two decades of leading the entertainment giant through some of its most pivotal transformations and acquisitions. Iger, in an exit interview with The Financial Times, has now confirmed some significant efforts that didn’t pan out, such as walking away from buying Twitter, being snubbed by Apple, and losing out on the James Bond franchise.
According to Iger, Disney came close to buying Twitter from cofounder Jack Dorsey “at a very attractive price,” sometime prior to Elon Musk buying the social media platform in 2022 and changing its name to X. Iger had plans to turn Twitter into a global distribution platform for Disney, but walked away on the morning of the deal over concerns that it would be “a horrible distraction.”
Disney was also at one point involved in early conversations regarding a potential merger with Apple, something Iger thinks would have been “truly transformational.” In the end, Iger says these conversations “never went anywhere,” and that “Apple didn’t show that much interest.” The two companies have a mixed history — Iger was an Apple board member from 2011 to 2019, and notably a driving force behind Disney acquiring Pixar in 2006, which was led by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs at the time. According to Iger, his first call with Jobs resulted in an almost immediate deal to put Disney content on the first video iPod.
“All of a sudden, I’m now someone Steve likes and respects,” Iger told The Financial Times.
Subscribe to The Vergeto continue reading.
Most Popular
Most Popular
- Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban
- The best Prime Day deals we found on our favorite gear
- Elon Musk and the plot to hijack America’s broadband
- Valve will finally let you build your own Steam Machine with SteamOS for desktop
- Prime Day has some solid deals on Switch 2, PS5, and Xbox games
Video 91/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the adVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE
The Verge Daily
A free daily digest of the news that matters most.
Email (required)
Sign Up
By submitting your email, you agree to ourTerms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the GooglePrivacy PolicyandTerms of Serviceapply.
Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad
More in Streaming
Netflix’s next TV gaming experiment will scare the hell out of you
Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives
Toy Story has the right take on tech
The NTS Radio Player brings the best of internet radio to your hi-fi
In season 2 of Sugar, Colin Farrell’s quirky detective becomes much more human
HBO Max’s annual plans are 28 percent off right now
Netflix’s next TV gaming experiment will scare the hell out of you
Andrew Webster Jun 23
Musician and YouTuber Hainbach on ‘Breath of the Wild’ and Swiss Army Knives
Terrence O'Brien Jun 205
Toy Story has the right take on tech
David Pierce Jun 2015
The NTS Radio Player brings the best of internet radio to your hi-fi
Terrence O'Brien Jun 1916
In season 2 of Sugar, Colin Farrell’s quirky detective becomes much more human
Andrew Webster Jun 193
HBO Max’s annual plans are 28 percent off right now
Sheena Vasani Jun 1813
Advertiser Content From This is the title for the native ad
Top Stories
Jun 23
Meta launches cheaper smart glasses without Ray-Ban
Two hours ago
GTA VI finally gets a price tag
Jun 23
Elon Musk and the plot to hijack America’s broadband
Jun 22
The Steam Machine is the most ambitious game console I’ve ever played
An hour ago
Our favorite Prime Day deals you can shop on day two
-
Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Data
© 2026Vox Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved
Notifications Drawer
Sign in to see your notifications or create an account to join the conversation.
Continue reading with a Verge subscription Unlock unlimited access to The Verge for just $2.
START YOUR TRIAL
Already a subscriber?Sign inBack toThe Verge Homepage
Privacy Center
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Cookie Policy Vendor List
Allow All
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Essential
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
-
Functional Cookies
Essential
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
View Vendor Details
Allow the Sale or Sharing/Targeted Advertising
- Allow the Sale or Sharing/Targeted Advertising
As a valued user, we are providing you the ability to opt-out from the sharing of your personal information to advertisers and social media companies at any time across business platform, services, businesses and devices. You can opt-out of the sharing of your personal information by using this toggle switch. For more information on your rights and options see our privacy notice.
-
Performance Cookies
- Switch Label
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
-
Social Media & Embedded Content
- Switch Label
Content embedded on our sites (e.g. social media posts, video clips, polls and games) originates from third party sources such as social media platforms, video sharing sites, or other third party websites. When this content loads on pages you visit, any cookies or similar tracking technologies set by the third party source in connection with that content may also load. Vox Media doesn't set these cookies and doesn't control them. These cookies may be capable of tracking your browser across sites and/or building a profile of your interests. Not allowing these cookies will impact what content you can see and engage with on our sites.
-
Targeting Cookies
- Switch Label
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
View Vendor Details
Vendors List
Clear
-
- checkbox label label
Apply Cancel
Consent Leg.Interest
-
checkbox label label
-
checkbox label label
-
checkbox label label
Reject All Confirm My Choices