Marvel Comics President Dan Buckley Announces Departure
by Tony Thornley
On March 18th, 2026, The Walt Disney Company announced a new CEO, Josh D’Amaro. Since then, the world’s largest entertainment company has been through change after change, and yesterday a huge one was announced at Marvel Comics.
After two months of both promotions and layoffs, it would seem like the upheavals would slow down. But almost a month to the day that announced the aforementioned layoffs, Marvel Comics President Dan Buckley has announced his departure, and Marvel themselves announced his replacements: Brad Winderbaum and David Adbo.
Buckley has been at Marvel Comics for nearly 30 years, serving as head of various divisions, then as Publisher since 2003, and President since 2017. When Marvel was reorganized in 2023, Buckley’s official title was changed to President of Marvel Comics and Franchise, when he reported to Kevin Feige, Chief Creative Officer of Marvel.
Winderbaum has been with Marvel Studios since its founding, serving as a producer on a variety of projects. Most recently, he was head of Marvel Television, where he was a producer on Loki, Hawkeye, Daredevil Born Again, Marvel Zombies and more. Adbo is a longtime business executive, serving most recently as the head of Disney Music Group.
So what does this mean?
Right away, probably nothing. Per Buckley’s letter informing the staff at Marvel of his departure, he’s going to be remaining with the publisher into 2027 to assist in the transition. However, it’s not hard to see this is probably the beginning of changes at the publisher. Though Buckley’s tenure featured a lot of highs, Marvel Comics is sitting currently at a low point. Much of the publishing line is struggling, with titles frequently being unable to last longer than five issues, and even initiatives vanish before fully rolling out, like the much touted Imperial.
Could this mean other changes at the top at Marvel Comics? It’s very possible. After all, current editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski has been in the role since 2017, around the same time as Buckley’s promotion to president. Most who have served in that role were in the position between six and ten years, so a change in that role is not just possible, but likely, and that could spark other changes down the line at the publisher.
Beyond that, it’s probably not worth speculating much more than “this isn’t the last of it.” Changes are coming at Marvel, and we’re all interested to see exactly what.
This is still a developing story, so stay tuned for more.
