Prolific writer, producer, and director Christopher Nolan has a long list of stellar films like Dunkirk and The Dark Knight. Now, he’s finally revealing more details about his upcoming movie Tenet, which is set to be released on July 17, 2020. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Nolan gave fans tidbits of information about Tenet’s premise. It’s been described as an espionage action film but the director says it will combine a few different genres in an epic way. He also calls Tenet one of the most ambitious films he has ever made, which is saying a lot considering his impressive track record so far.
“We’re jumping off from the point of view of an espionage film, but we’re going to a number of different places,” says Nolan. “We’re crossing a few different genres in a hopefully exciting and fresh way. [Producer] Emma [Thomas] and I have put together a lot of large-scale productions, but this is certainly the biggest in terms of international reach. We shot in seven countries, all over the place, with a massive cast and huge set pieces. There’s no question, it’s the most ambitious film we’ve made.”
Tenet’s primary ensemble cast includes John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Nolan says that Washington is undoubtedly the hero of the film and praises the actor—a football player who rose to fame in Ballers and BlacKkKlansman—for his talent and tenacity. There’s not a lot of information about any of the Tenet characters quite yet but Entertainment Weekly released a two photos from the film.
ROBERT PATTINSON AND JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON IN TENET OH MY GOD pic.twitter.com/d7DKNNlT2a
— red (@pattinsonbats) December 18, 2019
The first photo shows Washington and Pattinson standing on top on a building. They aren’t doing anything besides looking dapper and possibly holding a conversation, so it’s not clear what their relationship will be in the movie. The second photo is of Washington’s character driving the boat (not Megan Thee Stallion-style, but literally operating a motorized boat) while Debicki lounges in the background. We still have no idea what’s going on here, but it looks good so far.
Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing for this movie to be shrouded in so much secrecy. The world is filled with too many spoilers and information about a movie or TV show before it even drops. Sometimes the entire plot is given away in a ton of trailers and teasers that makes big moments seems sort of meh when they play out on-screen.
Keeping things under wraps amps up the suspense and gives fans something to look forward to. It’s not a move that everyone can make, but a big name like Christopher Nolan already knows that people will show up to support pretty much anything with his name attached to it. And, it’s going to be cool to see Washington take on yet another leading role in Tenet as he follows in the footsteps of his extremely famous father.
We will definitely keep our eyes and ears open for more Tenet information in the new year.
Image Credit: HBO
