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Steven Spielberg exited 'Indiana Jones 5' after plot disagreements

LOS ANGELES - JUNE 12: The movie: Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark , (aka: "Raiders of the Lost Ark"), directed by Steven Spielberg.  Seen here, Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones.  Initial theatrical release June 12, 1981.  Screen capture. A Paramount Picture. (Photo by CBS via Getty Images)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (Credit: CBS via Getty Images)

The fifth Indiana Jones movie will be the first not to be directed by Steven Spielberg.

And according to an interview with screenwriter David Koepp, who was also working on the project, it was all down to a disagreement over the various elements involved in pulling the movie together.

Speaking to Den of Geek, Koepp said: “I tried a couple different versions with Steven and they all had some good stuff about them and they all had some stuff that didn’t work, which happens.

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“But it was just very hard to have everybody come together and have all the elements — Steven, Harrison (Ford), the script and Disney — come together at once. And it didn’t.

“When James Mangold came in and Steven stepped out, that was a pretty logical breaking point. It’s a gracious time to step out the door because I think the last thing a new director wants is the old director’s writer.”

American director Steven Spielberg speaks with assistant director David Koepp (left) on the set of Spielberg's film, 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park,' 1997. (Photo by Universal Studios/Getty Images)
American director Steven Spielberg speaks with assistant director David Koepp (left) on the set of Spielberg's film, 'The Lost World: Jurassic Park,' 1997. (Photo by Universal Studios/Getty Images)

Koepp explained though that their departure from the project was amicable, and he’s happy with the new directions it’s going in.

Mangold, director of Logan and Walk The Line, was announced as the movie's new director back in February, taking over from Spielberg, who has helmed all of the Indiana Jones movies.

CANNES, FRANCE - MAY 18: (L-R)  Director/producer George Lucas, actor Harrison Ford and Director Steven Spielberg pose at the Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull - photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 61st International Cannes Film Festival on May 18 , 2008 in Cannes, France.  (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)
George Lucas, Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg pose at the Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull photocall in Cannes (Credit: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)

Spielberg will stay on as a 'hands-on' producer of the movie, but with Koepp out too, it's not known who will script.

Jurassic Park writer Koepp was behind Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which received a lukewarm reception back in 2008.

James Mangold arrives at the 31st Annual Producers Guild Awards at the Hollywood Palladium on Saturday, January 18, 2020, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Producers Guild of America/AP Images)
James Mangold (Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision for the Producers Guild of America/AP Images)

Mangold has since said that he plans to push the franchise on, telling Comicbook.com in May: “You have to push something to someplace new, while also remembering the core reasons why everyone was gathered.”

The movie is slated for release in July, 2022.