Top executives at Walt Disney led a rebellion against CEO Bob Chapek in recent weeks, leading to his shock replacement by previous boss Bob Iger, according to “people familiar with the matter”.

The campaign to remove Chapek began in the American summer, coming just after his contract was renewed for a further three years in June.

This was a costly error, meaning Chapek will walk away with at least A$34.6 million as part of his severance. (Ironically, it will be even more than this should Iger’s return improve stock prices.)

“A lot of people were approaching the board, Iger loyalists who felt sidelined,” said a person “familiar with the talks”, according to The Financial Times. “They were clueless as to what to do.”

Three of FT’s sources said chief financial officer Christine McCarthy (pictured below) was among the executives who complained.

Chapek’s choppy 33 month rein came just as COVID hit, leading to a disastrous period in which the cruises and theme park division, the latter Chapek’s speciality, were largely inoperable.

Disney shares fell to a two-and-a-half-year low on November 10, after reporting a massive A$2.3 billion loss from Disney+. Despite adding 12 million subscribers in the period, the massive losses spooked investors and executives alike.

Chapek announced job cuts, telling employees in an email, “We’re going to have to make difficult and uncomfortable decisions.”

Unbeknownst to Chapek, a difficult and uncomfortable decision was already in the works.

Iger, for his part, said naming Chapek as his successor was one of his “worst business decisions.”

“He said he was tired of being harangued about succession and said, ‘Fine, you guys have someone else run the business,’” a former Disney executive told Insider in July. “He greatly regretted it as soon as COVID hit.”

Shares rose 10 per cent upon news of Iger’s return, but Disney remains on track to deliver its worst single-year share price drop since the mid-1970s.

Hopes are the man who brought Pixar, Marvel, and Lucasfilm under the ownership of the Disney empire can again elicit hope in the entertainment giant.