According to IMDb trivia, Nolan had completed a screenplay about aviation pioneer Howard Hughes before setting it aside after learning Martin Scorsese was moving forward with “The Aviator.”
Christopher Nolan’s Howard Hughes Film Was Replaced by ‘Batman Begins’
Following the release of “Insomnia” in 2002, Nolan began developing a biographical drama centered on Howard Hughes. He envisioned comedian and dramatic actor Jim Carrey in the lead role, believing he was the right choice to portray the eccentric businessman. The director later described the screenplay as one of the finest pieces of writing he had produced.
Unlike Scorsese’s “The Aviator,” which chronicled Hughes’ rise as a filmmaker and aviation innovator between the late 1920s and the 1940s, Nolan’s version would have explored a different chapter of his life. Drawing from Michael Drosnin’s book “Citizen Hughes,” the screenplay focused on Hughes’ later years, examining his increasing isolation and declining mental health.
The project came to an end when Nolan realized another major Howard Hughes film had already gained momentum. With Scorsese directing “The Aviator” and Leonardo DiCaprio attached to star, Nolan decided not to pursue a competing production and instead accepted the opportunity to direct “Batman Begins,” the 2005 picture that launched his acclaimed “Dark Knight” trilogy.
Although “The Aviator” went on to earn critical acclaim, multiple Academy Awards, and nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, Nolan has acknowledged that shelving his Hughes movie remained a disappointment. He has even said he never watched Scorsese’s hit because of his lingering attachment to the project that never came to fruition. More than two decades later, that unmade screenplay remains one of the most intriguing “what if” stories of his career, which most recently expanded with the epic fantasy “The Odyssey.”