Christopher Nolan’s promise to fans: ‘Tenet’ is ‘coming to theatres’

Los Angeles, May 22 (IANS): At a time when the fad of direct-to-OTT is catching the fancy of a section of filmmakers, Hollywood mogul Christopher Nolan has clearly asserted that his highly-anticipated spy thriller “Tenet” will only release on the big screen.

The confirmation comes at the end of the film’s just-released second trailer. The trailer ends with a note: “Coming to theatres”, although without committing to a date. However, the official Twitter account of the film still lists its original planned date — July 17 — as the day of release.

The new trailer of the action thriller gives a glimpse into the mission that the protagonist secret agents, essayed by Robert Pattinson and John David, embark on, in a time-bending mission to prevent World War III.

While many filmmakers have decided to take their efforts directly to OTT, bypassing theatrical release owing to the Covid-19 pandemic fallout of film trade, Nolan’s assertion has naturally thrilled fans.

“IMAX 70mm. Biggest screen possible. This is going to be glorious,” one wrote, while another said: “COMING TO THEATERS??!!! Mr. Nolan, you are a true hero.”

From the perilous boat sequences to building scaling shots to epic car chases to torture scenes to plane crashing and exploding sequences, the trailer was gripping and gritty, without revealing plot points.

The film has been described as “an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage”, and the second trailer came with hints of ‘inversion’ versus time travel as a part of survival.

“To do what I do I need some idea of the threat we face,” Washington’s character says in the clip.

Pattinson’s character is heard asking: “Why did you bring me in?”, to which Washington responded: “You really want to know? He can communicate with the future.”

Pattinson questions: “Time travel?” to which Washington responded: “No. Inversion.”

The support cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Clemence Poesy.

The Warner Bros.’ movie has been shot across seven countries — India, the US, the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, and Norway.