Veteran filmmaker Steven Spielberg has vacated the director’s chair of Indiana Jones 5, the first time he won’t helm a franchise movie.

Variety said Disney is now in early negotiations with director James Mangold, best known for delivering hits like Ford v Ferrari and Hugh Jackman’s last superhero movie Logan, to helm the long-awaited film.

Spielberg, who started the franchise with Raiders of the Lost Ark starring Harrison Ford as the titular archaeology professor, will remain as a hands-on producer on the fifth instalment.

It is being rumoured that the filmmaker’s decision to not direct the fifth movie stems from his desire to hand over the franchise’s reins to the younger generation. He had taken a similar step with Jurassic World, a reboot of his three Jurassic Park films, that was directed by Colin Trevorrow in 2015.

Mangold is a favourite of Disney after the success of Matt Damon and Christian Bale’s Ford v Ferrari. The studio is also working with the director on a Bob Dylan project, starring Timothee Chalamet.

Indiana Jones 5, which will see Ford returning as the bullwhip-wielding adventurer, was originally announced three years ago and has gone through various delays since then. Ford, 77, said the team is currently facing some scheduling conflicts and is also finalising the script.

“We’ve got some scheduling issues, a few script things still to do but we’re determined to get it right before we get it made,” Ford told HeyUGuys.com.

Recently, the actor had said the film was likely to start production in late April.