Christopher Nolan’s Tenet Secretly Debuts Trailer Before Hobbs & Shaw

There are few filmmakers working today who revel in mystery as much as Christopher Nolan. He’s got company, for sure. The Russo Brothers go out of their way to toy with Marvel-heads before their big releases like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. J.J. Abrams is a big fan of the misdirection and the fakeout, and of course, he’ll be keeping Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker a state secret for as long as necessary. As for Nolan, what we know about his film Tenet is this; it’s called Tenet, it stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson, and it’s been described as a globe-trotting adventure that includes espionage. As is Nolan’s preference, Tenet is being filmed using a mix of 70mm film and IMAX. The production is taking place across seven countries.

Then all of a sudden, Variety reports that a trailer (of sorts) for Tenet made a surprise debut in theaters last night ahead of Hobbs & Shaw. According to Variety and various reports coming in, the trailer—really a teaser—only showed star John David Washington and the tagline “It’s time for a new protagonist.”

Okay then!

Washington and Pattinson star alongside Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Clémence Poésy, Dimple Kapadia and Nolan favorite, Michael Caine. We’re hoping this itty-bitty Tenet teaser finds its way online so we can at least have a peek. Until then, we don’t have much to go on with Tenent other than to speculate wildly. Nolan’s last film was the epic, brilliantly constructed World War II drama Dunkirk. Tenet sounds more in the vein of his trippy Inception, which was also a globe-trotting adventure that included a version of espionage, only one that wormed its way into dreams.

We’ll share more Tenet news when we get it—whenever that might be.

Tenet is set for a July 17, 2020 release.

Featured image: SANTA BARBARA, CA – FEBRUARY 06: Director Christopher Nolan speaks onstage at the Outstanding Directors Award Sponsored by The Hollywood Reporter during The 33rd Santa Barbara International Film Festival at Arlington Theatre on February 6, 2018 in Santa Barbara, California. (Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for SBIFF)

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Bryan Abrams

Bryan Abrams is the Editor-in-chief of The Credits. He's run the site since its launch in 2012. He lives in New York.