He is best known for writing big-budget biopics The Theory of Everything (2014), Darkest Hour (2017), Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), The Two Popes (2019), and Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody (2022).

[6][7][8] The sequel novel to Death of a Superhero, In The Absence Of Heroes, was published in 2012, and was a finalist for the 2013 New Zealand Fiction Prize and was longlisted for the 2014 Dublin International IMPAC Literary Award.

In 2017 McCarten's work of historical non-fiction, Darkest Hour: How Churchill Brought Us Back From The Brink was published, and later was turned into a biopic.

[12][13] Via Satellite, which McCarten adapted from his own stage play, and directed himself, was invited to several film festivals including London, Cannes, Toronto, Melbourne, Hawaii and Seattle.

He first initiated talks with Jane to acquire the rights to her autobiography, Travelling to Infinity, in 2004, and shortly after began work on the screenplay, which took its inspiration from her book.

On 15 January 2015, the film received 5 Academy Award nominations, with McCarten earning two as producer and screenwriter in the categories of Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

McCarten wrote Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), the Queen biopic that reached Number 1 at the box office in the US, UK, France, Germany, and all major markets, recording the second biggest opening weekend in history for a musical biography.

He would also serve as producer with Houston's mentor/boss Clive Davis, her estate president and music company Primary Wave.

[2] McCarten has written the book for A Beautiful Noise, a Broadway musical about Neil Diamond which premiered in New York in December 2022.