Tenet is one of the longest Christopher Nolan movies, but the runtime goes by insanely fast, even given all of the sometimes frustrating exposition. The time goes by so fast thanks to the interaction between the surprisingly emotive characters, the absolutely mind-bending action scenes, and the fresh new take on an old concept; time travel.
With all of these incredible moments that any director should aspire to, it has led to fans of Nolan drooling for a sequel, and it doesn’t help that the movie even gives credence to this. However, there are just as many reasons why there shouldn’t be a sequel to the convoluted action epic.
Sequel: A Creative Answer To James Bond
With Tenet arguably being the best spy movie of the 21st century, there are surprisingly a lot of parallels between the new Nolan movie and James Bond. Nolan is on record as being a fan of James Bond, and that influence has finally shown in one of his movies.
Between the sharp suits, the foreign antagonist with an outrageous plan, and the over the top action sequences, Tenet is basically James Bond with time travel, and who doesn’t want more of that?
Standalone: Is Costly For The Studio
It was an ill-fated decision to release the movie in the middle of a pandemic, and given the cost of marketing too, the movie was unable to recoup its budget. Tenet arguably had an oversized budget in the first place, and the film could definitely have been made for much less, so it brings to question how much of a success the movie would have realistically been if it wasn’t for COVID-19.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell, and from the perspective of the studio, a sequel to Tenet just isn’t a good idea.
Sequel: Could Iron Out Some Of The Movie’s Issues
There are so many things that don’t make sense about the movie, and in terms of explaining to the audience the rules of the world, it might be Nolan’s sloppiest yet. The movie is full of nonsensical exposition that doesn't really help the audience that much.
Though spoon-feeding the plot to the audience isn’t exactly one of Nolan’s trademarks, a sequel could help to clear up some big narrative questions that the fans have.
Standalone: Could Get Even More Convoluted
Though the sequel could clear some logical errors up, the pendulum could just as easily swing the other way, and it’s in fact more likely that it could get even more confusing given Nolan’s MO. There are a lot of other time travel movies that make more sense than Tenet, even Groundhog Day, so there isn’t much more room for error with a sequel.
In the movie, the character of Neil gives an interesting monologue on the grandfather paradox, which questions the idea of time travel, but doesn’t give any answers, and that neatly sums up the entirety of Tenet.
Sequel: The Inverted Action Sequences
Tenet might be totally divisive amongst critics and general audiences, as many think the narrative is genius, whereas others think it’s flawed and pretentious, but there’s one objective truth about the movie that everyone can agree on, and that’s the action scenes.
Between the moving heist on the freeway with the fire engines to the incredible Freeport scene in which an airplane crashes into a building, it’s obvious where the huge budget went. But the very best action scenes come when it intertwines the inverted characters and the characters in real-time, and audiences need more of that.
Standalone: The Stakes Couldn’t Possibly Be Higher
It isn’t completely clear at the beginning of the movie why Protagonist was hired by a mysterious employer, but when it’s finally revealed that Sator wants to end the world, which leads to a huge battleground that looks like no man’s land, it’s kind of hard to top.
The concept may have been memed to death, but with the idea of the world coming to the end with Protagonist being the sole person who can keep that from happening, it’s impossible to have a narrative that raises the stakes.
Sequel: Hinting At More Adventures
At the end of the movie, viewers find out that the last time they see Neil is the last time Neil sees Protagonist, as he knows he’s going to die. However, it isn’t the last time that the Protagonist sees Neil, as in his timeline they work together for years to come, and Neil reminds him that they go on a ton of jobs together.
There’s no point in telling the audience, teasing them almost, about future time-heists without the prospect of a sequel.
Standalone: The Narrative Is Neatly Wrapped Up
As Neil walks off into the sunset knowing full well that he’s going to be killed in just a few minutes’ time, and with the Protagonist watching him, crying, as they’ve literally just stopped the world from imploding, there’s might not be another Nolan movie that has been wrapped up more neatly.
After everything Protagonist has been through, it may be too arbitrary to see him on another mission, and it’d almost be like if there was an Inception sequel after Cobb reunited with his children.
Sequel: Neil And Protagonist’s Bromance
On top of Neil telling Protagonist that they go on a whole mess of adventures together, the two of them had a great connection. As the human connection is one of the few pitfalls Nolan has as a director, Neil and Protagonist is possibly the first time Nolan has successfully made audiences feel like there’s actually honest-to-god feelings between two characters.
But it might have had something to do with the fact that the actors portraying the characters are at the top of their game too.
Standalone: Nolan Has Tons Of Other Original Ideas
It’s likely that Nolan has a ton of unrealized projects that he’d love to work on, and given that the originality is one of the best things about the movie, making a sequel would be like watching Nolan slamming his foot on the break of his creativity.
It's already known that he wants to make a Howard Hughes biopic, and who knows what other mind-bending ideas he can think of. Nolan is one of the few directors still creating original movies, and the last thing fans want is for him to stop.