To release Christopher Nolan‘s “Tenet” or not to release Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet?” That is the million-dollar question on the minds of everyone in the film industry. While, yes, everyone wants to get back to work and see the film industry up and running, there’s been a disconcerting element to the “Tenet” discourse online which is all about, “[*fist pump*] Yeah, let ‘Tenet’ be the first big event movie to lead the charge back into theaters!” and definitely not enough consideration whether its safe for audiences and whether Warner Bros., Nolan, and the theatrical industrial complex are putting their customers in harm’s way by opening up theaters too soon and drawing in the heedless. The moral end missing in the conversation is very troubling to say the least.
But clearly WB is moving ahead at least in some regards. We don’t know much about “Tenet,” but we do know that it’s an action epic revolving around international espionage, time travel, and evolution. There’s been speculation about the movie possibly being about a man trying to prevent World War 3 through time travel and rebirth.
But most trailers and elements point to a movie that’s not time travel, but something more like time distortion and refraction. In fact, it’s recently been described as a “Quantum Cold War Thriller” in the marketing materials of an upcoming book on the movie and that’s been one of the biggest clues so far. “Tenet” also stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh, but funny enough, the cast is almost beside the point, this is a Christopher Nolan joint through and through.
Here’s the synopsis from that book:
FROM DIRECTOR CHRISTOPHER NOLAN comes a mind-blowing espionage thriller so unique that audiences will puzzle over its intricacies for years to come. The Secrets of Tenet takes readers on an exclusive journey into Nolan’s time-bending masterpiece, offering rare insights into all aspects of its creation. Featuring in-depth commentary from Nolan himself and a range of other key collaborators—including producer Emma Thomas and production designer Nathan Crowley—The Secrets of Tenet delivers an essential masterclass that lays bare the director’s process and his singular creative vision. Illustrated with candid behind-the-scenes imagery and compelling conceptual art, this is the ultimate exploration of a film guaranteed to linger in the imagination long into the future . . . and perhaps the past.
Update: here’s the new official film synopsis:
John David Washington is the new Protagonist in Christopher Nolan’s original sci-fi action spectacle “Tenet.” Armed with only one word—Tenet—and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real-time. Not time travel. Inversion.
So, “Tenet,” when does it come out? Revealing its hand slightly, the new “Tenet” trailer just says “coming to theaters” with no actual release date mentioned which tells you Warner Bros. is trying to be vague and keep its options open. Yes, the official party line is that the film still has a July 17 release date, but that date not mentioned at all in the trailer, and that allows them room to be flexible. They can either stick to their date if enough theaters will be open at that time, or they wait for the next optimal date which would likely be either December 2020 or even more likely, summer 2021.
Either way, prepare to have your mind blown with the new trailer and watch it below