That’s exactly how it is. The company announced today that, finally, Iger will soon resign as CEO of Walt Disney, handing over the job to Disney parks chief Josh D’Amaro at the company’s annual meeting on March 18. This time, there are no ifs, ands, or buts.

Well, almost nothing. About 500 words into today’s announcement is the intriguing statement that Iger “upon transition (on March 18) will continue to serve as a senior advisor and member of the Disney board until his retirement from the company on December 31, 2026.”

“Senior advisor”? That’s a new title for Iger, and while it may seem innocuous, it also seems unnecessary. (luck have not yet obtained a detailed definition of the role from Disney and will add it when it is received.)

Longtime Disney watchers know that a phrase like that has to have a reason. The last time Iger resigned, he shocked the entertainment and business world by suddenly announcing Chapek’s promotion to CEO, effective immediately, in a press release on a Friday afternoon in late February 2020. Media coverage shifted almost exclusively to Chapek as the new CEO.

A few weeks later, the COVID-19 pandemic landed in the US—closing most public places, including the Disney parks. The company’s profits fell sharply; last year the income turned into a loss; and the stock price dropped. Since the company closed its Disneyland parks in Shanghai and Hong Kong in January, some, including New York Times’ former media critic Ben Smith, surprised and loud: “Did Mr. Iger, with his deep ties to China and legendary timing, see the coronavirus about to destroy his global empire? Did he get out in time?” (Iger assured Smith that “there is nothing different or strange to think about.”)

In any case, Iger did not lose the leadership of the company. Far from it: He remains effectively at its helm with a new title, executive chair. That might sound like a fancy title for a leader put out to pasture, but it’s actually a much more powerful title that’s sometimes used throughout the corporate world. The executive chair is the top executive in the company, more than the CEO. (This may leave the titular CEOs in the awkward predicament who is responsible for the success or failure of a company without full control of its strategy.) Lest there be any doubt about who is really the boss of Disney, buried deep in the news release is the revelation that Chapek will report directly to Iger individually as well as to the board of directors, which Iger leads.

“When you’re the executive chair, the buck stops with you,” Charles Elson, a corporate governance expert who serves on several boards, said. SPOKE luck at that time. “It’s a title change that makes little sense. You’re still running the show. Period.”

Iger stepped out of the limelight as executive chair for nearly two years, then finally stepped down entirely. For the first time in his 27-year career at Disney, he was never tied to the company. Then, after 11 months, the board unceremoniously fired Chapek and reinstated Iger as CEO.

Which brings us to today. Seven months after Iger returned as CEO in 2023, the board extended his contract through the end of 2026. Today’s announcement is in line with the contract.

It will also come, like 2020, at a time of social unrest and economic uncertainty. Within its sector, Disney is relatively stable (especially the Experiences division led by D’Amaro), but it is facing pressure on several fronts—weakening legacy TV and film economics amid the rise of generative AI, and a streaming play that recently pointed to profitability; whipsawing media-industry dealmaking and regulatory turbulence; rising tariffs in a global trade war; and an international climate in which public sentiment toward America grew more cautious and hostile.

After the bumpy transition last time, this succession—led by board chair James Gorman, former CEO of Morgan Stanley—seems like a textbook exercise in doing it right. That may be the case; and of course, Iger will have to leave someday. But the questions are still confused about the “senior advisor” role. By all accounts Iger had a close relationship with D’Amaro, a protégé many observed. voices and even very desirable clothes his mentor. But outgoing CEOs coach their successors all the time without needing a new title. Why does Iger need one? What does this mean?

Disney is arguably the best storyteller in the world. The Iger saga may provide another plot twist.