John Lasseter Will Leave Disney and Pixar at the End of 2018

Following a lengthy leave of absence, Disney has announced that John Lasseter, the chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, will leave the company at the end of 2018. Until December 31, he will work in a consulting role.

“John had a remarkable tenure at Pixar and Disney Animation, reinventing the animation business, taking breathtaking risks, and telling original, high quality stories that will last forever,” CEO Bob Iger said in a statement, via Variety. “We are profoundly grateful for his contributions, which included a masterful and remarkable turnaround of The Walt Disney Animation Studios. One of John’s greatest achievements is assembling a team of great storytellers and innovators with the vision and talent to set the standard in animation for generations to come.”

Lasseter released his own statement, which read, "The last six months have provided an opportunity to reflect on my life, career and personal priorities. While I remain dedicated to the art of animation and inspired by the creative talent at Pixar and Disney, I have decided the end of this year is the right time to begin focusing on new creative challenges. I am extremely proud of what two of the most important and prolific animation studios have achieved under my leadership and I’m grateful for all of the opportunities to follow my creative passion at Disney."

Though the statement doesn't reveal the reason for Lasseter's exit, back in November he sent an internal letter to Disney and Pixar staff where he said he felt he was "falling short" in his responsibilities as a leader and announced he was taking a leave of absence. He noted he's "had a number of difficult conversations," and said "it's never easy to face your missteps."

The Pixar lead's sabbatical came in late 2017 after The Hollywood Reporter published various accounts of alleged unwanted advances from Lasseter toward female employees.

Per Variety, Disney has not yet announced a replacement for Lasseter at either Walt Disney Animation Studios or Pixar. The outlet reports that Frozen's Jennifer Lee and Inside Out's Pete Docter are good contenders to replace him at Disney Animation Studios and Pixar, respectively.

Lasseter joined Pixar in 1984, five years after its inception, and helped the company's breakout success by directing its first feature film, 1995's Toy Story. Working with various co-directors, he went on to direct A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Cars and Cars 2. When Disney announced it was purchasing Pixar in 2006, Lasseter was made chief creative officer of both Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios, then known as Walt Disney Feature Animation.

Though Lasseter was involved with many of the developments that helped Pixar reach its esteemed rank in Hollywood, the company has been criticized for its treatment of female creatives and those who are people of color. In November, following Lasseter's announcement of his leave of absence from Pixar, Rashida Jones and her writing partner Will McCormack explained their decision to no longer write Toy Story 4 by saying, "We parted ways because of creative and, more importantly, philosophical differences. There is so much talent at Pixar, and we remain enormous fans of their films. However, it is also a culture where women and people of color do not have an equal creative voice.”

Terri Schwartz is Editorial Manager of Entertainment at IGN. Talk to her on Twitter at @Terri_Schwartz.