Which Indiana Jones film was the first in the series not directed by Steven Spielberg?

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny was the first Indiana Jones film not directed by Steven Spielberg.

James Mangold directed the fifth theatrical film, released in 2023, after Spielberg stepped away from the director’s chair. Spielberg remained involved as a producer, so the film still carried his creative connection even though he did not direct it.

The earlier four films—Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull—were all directed by Spielberg. Dial of Destiny therefore marked a significant change in the series’ filmmaking team, while Harrison Ford returned as Indiana Jones.

The film begins with a 1944 sequence involving the young Indiana Jones and later moves to 1969. Its central artifact is the Antikythera, or Dial of Destiny, which leads Jones and his goddaughter Helena Shaw into a race involving former Nazis, ancient history and the possibility of time travel. The common mistake is to name The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: that was the fourth film, but Spielberg directed it.