Apparently, there were some at Marvel Studios, though reportedly not Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, who weren’t sold on Black Panther at first.
There was a feeling that movies with Black actors didn’t do well internationally.
Iger fought this notion, so being proved right may have helped this movie be a special one for him.
It’s maybe not the most surprising answer to get from Bob Iger, but a lot of the reason he may feel this way is because Iger himself largely championed the production.