Christopher Nolan likely to direct Howard Hughes biopic next

According to Vulture, Christopher Nolan wants to direct a Howard Hughes biopic after he has completed The Dark Knight Rises.

Before he directed Batman Begins, Nolan worked on the project, based on Michael Drosnin's non-fiction book Citizen Hughes: The Power, the Money and the Madness.

Jim Carrey was linked to the Hughes role, but production was suspended when Martin Scorsese decided to make The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio.

Nolan apparently wants the movie ready for release in 2014, at which point he thinks sufficient time will have passed since the Scorsese flick.

This film version would focus more on Hughes' later life than The Aviator did, looking at his increasingly bizarre behaviour that resulted from his OCD.

It'd be one hell of a role for any actor, and it'd be intriguing to know if Nolan would still want Carrey in the part.

If he was no longer interested, we could see his frequent collaborator Christian Bale having a good go at it.

Nolan is gearing up to start shooting The Dark Knight Rises imminently, with a release date set for 20 July 2012.