Pixar is changing its top operational job while keeping its creative brain trust in place. The Disney-owned animation studio said Jim Morris will become President Emeritus on Jan. 4, 2027, after 12 years as president and 21 years at the company. Jonathan Garson, a Disney veteran of more than 30 years, will take over as Pixar president.
Garson has worked at Pixar since 2010, most recently as general manager, and previously led the studio’s marketing and franchise team. He will oversee production and operations, including producers, department heads and post-production, and will partner with chief creative officer Pete Docter.
Morris will stay on as an executive producer on Incredibles 3, dated for June 16, 2028, and will keep working on talent development, mentoring and technology initiatives across Pixar and the wider Disney studio. Disney Entertainment Studios chairman Alan Bergman said the move is intended to “ensure a smooth succession” for the team.
Creative leadership stays anchored
The operational shift leaves Pixar’s creative hierarchy largely intact. Docter remains chief creative officer, while Jonas Rivera moves into an expanded creative executive vice president role leading filmmakers and development. Rivera and Docter will serve as executive producers on every Pixar film.
Rivera’s history with the studio runs back to 1994, when he became Pixar’s first production intern. He has since won Oscars for Inside Out and Toy Story 4, earned a best-picture nomination as producer of Up, and executive produced Inside Out 2. That continuity matters for partners and advertisers: Pixar is signalling that the people behind its recent blockbusters will keep shaping the next slate.
Why the hand-off matters
Morris joined Pixar in 2005 after a long run at Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic. Under his presidency, Pixar features grossed more than $12 billion at the worldwide box office. The transition was long planned and is not part of the VERO buyout offerings Disney has used during broader workforce cuts, Deadline reports.
That distinction matters: this is a controlled succession with the creative filter intact, not a retrenchment signal. It should give licensing, exhibition and marketing partners more confidence in the studio’s near-term plans.
The slate to watch
Pixar is coming off the billion-dollar global release of Toy Story 5 in June. The next test is whether the new team can sustain both original films and sequels:
- Gatto — March 5, 2027
- Ghost Market — March 10, 2028
- Incredibles 3 — June 16, 2028
Garson’s marketing and franchise background is likely to invite scrutiny of how those two originals are positioned. For entertainment planners, the near-term brief is simple: track whether Pixar’s distribution and marketing support for original titles stays as aggressive under an operational chief who made his name in franchise work.
Source: Deadline
