Significantly, THE SHELTERING SKY was one of Robert Aldrich's projects he never got around to filming. Aldrich was very much influenced by Welles's visual style and knew his work.
Maybe that's why he did Flight of the Pheonix, another desert story, as consolation. Aldrich's Kiss Me Deadly is almost right up there with Touch of Evil in my book.
Perhaps? I don't know the actual date of acquisition of that property but Aldrich was always trying to break away from that stereotype of "le gros Robert" and his films go far beyond that.