The Universal Creative leadership team behind the Harry Potter, Minions and Nintendo attractions that have challenged Disney’s theme park supremacy are stepping down en masse and making way for the next generation of artists, engineers and storytellers.

The creative division of Universal theme parks has been “gutted” by the exit of high-ranking executives responsible for developing rides, shows, lands and theme parks around the globe, according to an exclusive story by The Wrap.

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Universal Creative chief creative officer Thierry Coup, division president Mike Hightower and Universal Studios Florida engineering and safety vice president Mike Harrington are heading for the exit ahead of the launch of the new Epic Universe theme park coming to Orlando, Florida, in 2025, according to The Wrap.

“As you might expect, many in the company are concerned that if they don’t take the generous early retirement offer, they may get caught up in a less generous layoff later,” according to MiceChat.

Coup oversaw the development of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Super Nintendo World themed lands. Coup started his career at Walt Disney Imagineering working on the Euro Disney project that eventually became known as Disneyland Paris. Hightower shepherded the opening of Universal Beijing Resort in 2021. Harrington’s previous stops included ridemaker Oceaneering and Universal Studios Japan.

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The top-ranking trio are among a number of Universal theme park executives who have opted for voluntary early retirement packages offered to older and longtime NBCUniversal employees, according to The Wrap. Nearly every Universal Creative senior vice president has left the division, The Wrap reported.

The early retirement program was offered to all eligible NBCUniversal employees, according to Universal officials.

“This program was entirely voluntary and employees had no obligation to opt in,” a Universal spokesperson told WDW News Today.

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Universal Creative staff have been grumbling at industry events about the upcoming Epic Universe theme park becoming less epic on a daily basis, according to MiceChat.

“What the project was promised to be, and what it is shaping up to be, may not live up to the grandiose name,” according to MiceChat.

Walt Disney Imagineering — the equivalent of Universal Creative — has gone through its own talent exodus in the past few years with pandemic-related layoffs, furloughs and retirements paired with the turmoil of relocating the Imagineering headquarters from California to Florida.

SEE ALSO: Disney Imagineering relocation shifts creative balance of power from California to Florida

Bouncing back and forth between Universal Creative and Disney Imagineering has been a long tradition for theme park designers.

“Could some Universal Creative people end up over at WDI? Could some Imagineers be heading over to new roles at Universal?” wrote Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles, who pens a weekly column for the Southern California News Group. “Or might some departing Universal leaders be ready to start their own themed entertainment design shops?”

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Both creative divisions at Universal and Disney have a strong bench of younger talent ready to step into the void created by the generational seachange.

“It won’t be hard for Universal to select new top creatives who have power and respect in the theme park industry as there are lots of talented people in the industry who are either out of work at the moment or likely to be willing to jump ship,” according to MiceChat. “It will be much harder for Disney Imagineering to recapture the history and experience they have lost as Disney has always relied on its history and nostalgia to drive repeat visits.”