Christopher Nolan’s Tenet is arguably one of the most highly-anticipated blockbusters of the next year, even with essentially all of its plot details remaining a mystery. Audiences were treated to an atmospheric teaser trailer for the film earlier this year, when the theater-exclusive footage made a surprise debut before IMAX screenings of Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. While that teaser was not officially released online, it succeeded in drumming up quite a lot of hype for the upcoming film — and it looks like the film’s marketing campaign is about to be ambitious once again. According to TrailerTrack, an “extended prologue sequence” for Tenet has officially been rated by the MPAA. There’s no indication of how long the sequence will be.
While there is not an indication of when the sequence will begin debuting in theaters, many speculate it will be centered around IMAX screenings of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker next month. This would follow precedent set by Nolan’s last film Dunkirk, which debuted a “short film version” of its first act ahead of Rogue One screenings. TrailerTrack also speculates that an official trailer could debut around that time, in order to promote the film in non-IMAX screenings.
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Nolan as developed a bit of a reputation for releasing “prologues” for his films, beginning with The Dark Knight in 2007. That initial prologue, which showed the first seven minutes of the film, was exclusively placed before December screenings of I Am Legend, and quickly garnered hype amongst Batman fans. Nolan did a similar thing for The Dark Knight Rises, which debuted before 70mm screenings of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. While Nolan didn’t do an official prologue for Interstellar, a “special trailer” was screened for museum-based IMAX locations.
The film will star John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, and Elizabeth Debicki. The cast will also include Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clรฉmence Poรฉsy, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh.
Plot details for Tenet are currently under wraps, so much so that Pattinson previously claimed he only read the script once while locked in a room. This overwhelming secrecy has led some to speculate that the film could be a secret sequel to Nolan’s Inception. Whether or not that remains the case will have to be seen.
Are you excited to see Tenet get a special in-theaters prologue? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
Tenet will be released in theaters on July 17, 2020.