Melissa Stone has been named senior vice president of publicity at The Walt Disney Studios, where she will lead the publicity team and oversee global PR strategy and execution across Disney’s theatrical and streaming portfolios.
In this role, Stone will oversee publicity for the company’s various shingles — Disney Live Action, Disney Animation, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios — along with Disney+.
Stone is a veteran publicist with more than two decades of experience, including 14 years at Fox and Disney. Her credits include “Avatar: The Way of Water,” last year’s live-action “Lilo & Stitch,” “The Little Mermaid,” “Mufasa,” “Barbarian,” the recent “Planet of the Apes” movies, “Ford v. Ferrari,” “West Side Story” and Disney+ titles including “Andor.”
Stone will report to Martha Morrison, president of Studios Marketing. She replaces Michelle Sewell, who recently retired from the company.
“I’m thrilled to have Melissa step into this role,” Morrison said in a statement. “She brings more than two decades of exceptional publicity experience, a deep network of talent and media relationships, and a proven ability to lead campaigns that drive both audience engagement and cultural impact. I look forward to seeing her lead publicity across our incredible Studios portfolio.”
Stone’s appointment comes after a particularly turbulent period at the company, including two massive rounds of layoffs that began earlier this summer and continued until just a few weeks ago, with huge impacts at ESPN, National Geographic, Pixar and Walt Disney Studios. The layoffs come amid a broader consolidation of resources, referred to by current Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro as the “One Disney” approach, as well as an emphasis on emerging technologies such as AI. During last week’s earnings call, D’Amaro discussed how AI is being introduced across all levels of the company, from post-production on feature films and television series to the design and implementation of upcoming theme park attractions.
Walt Disney Studios’ upcoming slate for the rest of 2026 includes Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Hexed,” Marvel Studios’ “Avengers: Doomsday” (and a re-release of “Avengers: Endgame”), 20th Century’s “Whalefall” and Searchlight’s “Wild Horse Nine” and “Behemoth!”
