Christopher Nolan: What Made 'The Dark Knight' Trilogy A Success

The blockbuster release pattern is almost depressingly familiar by this point: a studio will announce a date (or numerous dates) for a high profile project, and then race to meet that deadline. While Marvel is canny and smart about their development process, pretty much everyone else in Hollywood has a mixed success rate (just take a look at Universal‘s failed Dark Universe and Warner Bros. DC Films). In fact, it’s become such a problem that filmmakers are already nostalgic for the days when they had more time between sequels.

Sitting down for an extended chat at the The British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London, Christopher Nolan reflected on “The Dark Knight” trilogy, which stands as one of the towering achievements in the superhero genre. Moreover, he notes one key ingredient to the success he had with the films — time.

“That’s a privilege and a luxury that filmmakers aren’t afforded anymore. I think it was the last time that anyone was able to say to a studio, ‘I might do another one, but it will be four years’. There’s too much pressure on release schedules to let people do that now but creatively it’s a huge advantage. We had the privilege and advantage to develop as people and as storytellers and then bring the family back together,” Nolan explained.

It’s a lesson that studios could certainly heed, and it’s a no brainer — if you give filmmakers time to fully execute their vision, chances are the films will be better received commercially and critically. It’s also a bit of a slight burn on Warner Bros., who have been flailing somewhat in the superhero sphere post-Nolan.

The director also revealed that his long brewing Howard Hughes biopic — once considered dead — is back on the boil. Originally in the works after “Insomnia,” and set to star Jim Carrey as the reclusive billionaire, the project got put on hold when Martin Scorsese made “The Aviator,” but has always remained in the background. A handful of years back, it was reported that Nolan was using Michael Drosnin’s “Citizen Hughes: The Power, the Money and the Madness” as source material for the project, and he says it’s still kicking around.

“Howard Hughes is a fascinating character. A lot of what I put into the script, which I do intend to make one day, I put into Bruce Wayne. There’s been many films that have addressed different aspects of his life but not the whole thing,” Nolan explained.

It’s interesting because Bruce Wayne is the reason Nolan waved away doing the movie, but it looks like he’s found a new way into the material.

Whether or not that’s next remains to be seen, but for now, Nolan will likely enjoy basking in the awards season glow for “Dunkirk.” [Deadline]