Former Disney CEO Bob Chapek Announces Memoir Detailing His Rise and Fall

Bob Chapek is set to release a 272-page memoir, “Behind the Castle Walls: My Thirty Years at the Happiest Place on Earth,” on Sept. 29, 2026, published by Simon & Schuster’s Gallery Books. The narrative claims to reveal behind-the-scenes maneuvering from his appointment as Disney CEO in February 2020—hand-picked by Bob Iger—through the COVID-19 shutdown of parks, theaters and cruises, and up to his removal by the board in November 2022.

Chapek reflects on whether he was made the scapegoat for the company’s setbacks and describes his upbringing in small-town Indiana, his early Disney role in 1993, and subsequent leadership positions including president of Consumer Products and chairman of Parks, Experiences and Products. The book follows a period of “four years of reflection and distance,” offering his perspective on the board’s 2022 decision that Iger was better suited to lead Disney amid industry transformation. Disney has not commented on the forthcoming memoir.