Some audiences who went to check out Hobbs & Shaw last night got an unexpected surprise — and it wasn’t a bunch of scenes with The Rock going shirtless. According to The Hollywood Reporter, a 40-second teaser for Christopher Nolan’s upcoming espionage flick Tenet screened ahead of the Fast & Furious spinoff, intriguing fans and causing all kinds of speculation as to what Nolan’s latest opus might be about.
True to the director’s style, the first teaser gives almost nothing away in terms of plot, but prominently featured star John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) throughout its brief runtime.
Two title cards flashed during the teaser as well, the first reading “Time has come for a new protagonist,” with the second reading “Time has come for a new kind of mission.” Though the film takes some inspiration from the James Bond franchise, it’s being speculated that there could be an element of time-travel, hinted at through the text and the circular, clock-like motion of the film’s title, which was displayed briefly near the end.
As of this writing, the trailer hasn’t been released online in any official capacity, though a handful of bootlegs have started to surface.
Along with Washington, Tenet boasts a cast that includes Robert Pattinson (Good Time), Elizabeth Debicki (Widows), Dimple Kapadia (Fugly), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Avengers: Age of Ultron), Michael Caine (The Dark Knight Rises) and Kenneth Branagh (Dunkirk).
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Nolan also wrote the script and has been using a mixture of IMAX and 70mm film, which is something he’s become famous for. He’s also producing along with his partner Emma Thomas.
The director first made an impact in 2001 with his indie film, Memento, which liberally played time as well as conventional narratives. His next film, Insomnia, was also a modest hit, but it wasn’t until Batman Begins hit theaters in 2005 that Nolan became a box office force in his own right. The Prestige was Nolan’s last movie to gross under $200 million worldwide.
Tenet is set to hit theaters on July 17, 2020.
