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Pixar Animation Studios will make Jonathan Garson its president from 4 January 2027, with Jim Morris becoming president emeritus after a dozen years as president and 21 years at the studio, Deadline, Variety and TheWrap reported on 4 November 2026. Pete Docter remains chief creative officer. Jonas Rivera takes an expanded executive vice president of creative role leading filmmakers and development alongside Docter and Garson.
Key facts
- Effective date: 4 January 2027
- Garson: new president, overseeing production and operations (producers, department heads, post-production)
- Morris: president emeritus; continues as executive producer on Incredibles 3 (theatrical June 2028); talent development, mentoring and technology across Pixar and Walt Disney Studios
- Docter stays chief creative officer; Rivera becomes EVP of creative (from EVP of production)
- Recent/upcoming slate cited by trades: Toy Story 5 (2026 hit), Gatto (5 March 2027), Ghost Market (10 March 2028), Incredibles 3 (16 June 2028)
For studio partners and animation buyers, the hand-off keeps creative leadership continuous under Docter while shifting day-to-day production and operations to Garson, a 30-year-plus Disney veteran who joined Pixar in 2010 after franchise and product roles at The Walt Disney Studios, TheWrap reports.
Who moves where
Garson most recently oversaw Pixar’s operations departments with Rivera and earlier served as senior vice president of worldwide marketing and franchise, covering long-lead planning, campaigns, consumer products, theme parks, archives and related units, TheWrap says. Variety says his presidential remit covers all production and operations for a studio that has Gatto and Ghost Market coming after Toy Story 5.
Morris remains on Incredibles 3 as executive producer and will focus on talent development and mentoring across Pixar and Walt Disney Studios, plus technology initiatives for storytellers and artists, Variety and Deadline report. IndieWire notes Garson assumes the role in January after more than three decades inside Disney.
Rivera, a longtime Pixar producer who had been EVP of production overseeing feature production, moves to EVP of creative, working with Docter and Garson on filmmakers and development, Deadline and TheWrap say. Docter’s CCO role is unchanged.
Slate context
Trades place the change against a strong 2026 for Pixar. TheWrap cites Daniel Chong’s Hoppers at nearly $400 million worldwide and Andrew Stanton’s Toy Story 5 (co-directed by Kenna Harris) above $1.14 billion globally. Enrico Casarosa’s Gatto, with Mark Ruffalo among the voice cast, is dated 5 March 2027; Trevor Jimenez and Jesse Andrews’s Ghost Market is dated 10 March 2028; Peter Sohn’s Incredibles 3 (script by Brad Bird) is dated 16 June 2028. Screen Daily’s note matches that upcoming slate framing. No compensation, reporting-line chart beyond the named roles, or further executive exits were disclosed in the trade reports.
Related FilmBunch coverage of studio and animation management includes WildBrain’s CG partnership with EightyEight Pictures, Lee Sung Jin’s Lila Pictures launch and Jenny Groom’s appointment at MGM Alternative. More under Money & Policy.
Our reading
A planned January 2027 start dates this as succession, not a crisis exit. The operational question for co-producers and distributors is whether Garson’s franchise-and-operations background changes greenlight tempo or marketing hand-offs on Gatto and the 2028 titles while Docter and Rivera hold creative continuity and Morris stays on Incredibles 3.
Sources
- Deadline leadership report (4 November 2026; effective 4 January 2027; Docter; Rivera)
- Variety leadership report (4 November 2026; Garson remit; Morris Incredibles 3 EP; slate notes)
- TheWrap leadership report (4 November 2026; Garson bio; Rivera EVP Creative; slate dates)
- IndieWire leadership report (4 November 2026)
- Screen Daily leadership note (4 November 2026)