Christopher Nolan Doesn't Believe He's "Saving" Film With 'Tenet': "Cinema Is Bigger Than Any One Film"

Are you ready, folks? After months of theaters being shut down around the world, Christopher Nolan is returning with “Tenet” and is going to save the entire industry and artform! Well, at least that seems to be the general discourse surrounding the film, as the past couple of months have seen reports and speculation about the filmmaker’s involvement with the decision to release the film in theaters, where they’re open, of course. But according to the filmmaker himself, the job of savior is not something he signed on for when making “Tenet” and it’s not a title that he thinks is applicable to himself or any film.

Speaking to CNA, Nolan was asked point-blank about his thoughts regarding the discussion of him being the “savior of cinema” and wanting to make sure “Tenet” is the film that welcomes back audiences to the big screen. As you might expect, the filmmaker isn’t willing to take on that responsibility but is happy that WB is releasing the film where it’s “safe” to do so.

“All I can really take responsibility for is making the best film that I can,” said Nolan. “I think cinema is bigger than any one film one way or another, and I think people tend to simplify things a bit, particularly in a time like this. I’m just very pleased that the studio feels they can let the film play in places where theaters have been able to open.”

He continued, “Obviously, that’s not the release we imagined when we were making the film. But then, the world is not as we had imagined it would be when we made the film, and we had to adapt like everybody else. I’m just very, very pleased that audiences around the world are beginning to be able to respond to the film because, for me as a filmmaker, the film is not finished until the audience gets to see it and tell me what it is that I’ve done.”

Whether he likes it or not, there is a lot of pressure on Nolan and “Tenet” to bring back a sense of normalcy for studios wanting to release blockbusters post-pandemic. Even if he doesn’t want to add that pressure to the film, folks like Tom Cruise certainly understand the importance of “Tenet” doing well in cinemas, and what the performance might mean for the future of big-budget studio releases.

“Tenet” is now playing in select regions around the world and will debut in the US next week, in select markets.