Christopher Nolan's Film 'Tenet' Gets Pushed Back Yet Again

Tenet, which stars Sam David Washington and Robert Pattinson, is the latest cinematic project from Christopher Nolan. Many superhero movie fans know him for The Dark Knight trilogy, but he has also done cerebral films, including the science fiction titles Inception and Interstellar. Judging from what little we know of the premise, it seems that Tenet is no exception and may fit in neatly with Nolan's collection of cerebral science fiction films. While the couple of trailers that have been released have not clarified the premise a whole lot, it seems that a concept referred to as "inversion" (which is explicitly said to not be time travel, necessarily) is an essential component of the plot, as agents try to prevent World War III.

Unfortunately for anyone looking forward to Tenet, it appears that movie-goers will have to wait even longer to get answers to their questions. Even the simple question, "What is this movie even about?" Originally slated for a July 17 release, the film was later pushed back twice until the tentative date was changed to August 12. However, Warner Bros. has removed the film from their release calendar, indicating that Tenet will be pushed back even further. Warner Bros. chairman Toby Emmerich commented, “We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for ‘Tenet,’ Christopher Nolan’s wholly original and mind-blowing feature. Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theater partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen.”

The mention of a 2020 release still being in the cards may be a bit surprising, given that a fair amount of big-budget films have been pushed back to 2021. Whether the film is still planned for a 2020 release in the US is yet to be seen, though it is possible that Tenet may be released overseas before reaching the States, given that other countries are ahead in terms of overcoming the pandemic. Emmerich added, “We are not treating ‘Tenet’ like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that."

Interestingly, with the film having a runtime of 150 minutes, it may face some challenges. At this time, film screenings in China cannot exceed two hours. With China being the second-largest movie market, Warner Bros. would probably want their film to be screened there, though it could be a while before the current restrictions are eased up for films as long as Tenet.

The delay is understandably frustrating for some. After all, Tenet was, for a while, being touted as the first tentpole film in the US for a while. However, with many people concerned about the pandemic, it makes sense to wait until a time when it may be safer for a large amount of people to attend screenings. The opportunity to make money with more people attending is also there, but of course, generating money is a major reason for why films are made. The box office revenue could be used by studios to make back what they put into the films, as well as to produce future projects. In the end, it is best for studios to wait until a time when it is safer for people to go out in crowds. When people go to the movies, they want to have a good time, rather than be worried about their surroundings. While there is no word yet on how long the wait for Tenet may be, and how different it may be for various locations, it should not be too long before we get an answer. What matters most is that this gets resolved in the safest way possible.

Syndicated from Culture Slate