Tenet the highly anticipated Christopher Nolan action film has lost its release date, yet again, due to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the third release date shift the film has received, initially set to premiere July 17, the film slid back to July 31 and eventually landed on August 12 for its theatrical debut. However, as COVID-19 numbers continue to climb, both New York and Los Angeles have shut down most major movie theaters.
While most of the details remain unknown, Tenet is being billed as a science-fiction spy movie following a secret organization with the ability to invert time. John David Washington and Robert Pattinson play two agents for the mysterious time organization who attempt to stop World War III from occurring. The film is so wrapped in secrecy that Washington's character doesn't even have a proper name yet, being referred to only as Protagonist. The trailers for the movie don't shine much more light on the plot, but they do contain a bevy of impressive visuals that put the time inversion on full display.
Sadly, it seems US audiences will have to get this pandemic under control before Warner Bros feels confident to release Tenet in theaters. Warner Bros. announced the Tenet release date has been removed from the release calendar, but a new release date is "imminent." Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros chairman, said, "We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s wholly original and mind-blowing feature. We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that.”
As the US struggles with the coronavirus pandemic, other countries around the globe have seemingly gotten a much better handle on the situation. As a result, Warner Bros is considering upending the traditional distribution models by releasing Tenet in places where the virus is under more control, such as China, South Korea, and Japan. While it is clear from this news that Tenet is still a theatrical release for the studio, Warner Bros obviously isn't looking to expose potential moviegoers to coronavirus just to sell tickets. At the same time, this announcement indicates neither Warner Bros nor Nolan, are considering a direct to video release for the film.
Tenet could end up releasing on a staggered schedule based on which countries have reopened movie theaters and have their coronavirus numbers under control. This unusual release model could even extend to the U.S. rollout of the film. While New York and LA are not viable options for release, there are pockets of the country where theaters have reopened. Perhaps Warner Bros and Nolan will slowly premier the film to audiences in those places first, and save the New York/LA premiere for later in 2020.
Source: Warner Bros.