The new trailer for Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated Tenet has debuted online via the video game Fortnite and on YouTube.
The launch makes an important statement on multiple fronts, none more notable than Warner Bros. and the filmmaker’s commitment to release the film in cinemas worldwide. It’s a message that comes at a time when streaming and PVOD have dominated media conversation in the era of COVID-19, although often that discourse has often lacked complete perspective that includes the importance of — and eagerness to resume — theatrical exhibition.
Notably absent from the new trailer is the film’s originally planned release date of July 17 this summer. Presumably, this is the studio’s way of hedging its bets: the film isn’t officially delayed, and they may have a few more weeks to make that decision in case circumstances around the world don’t reach a state necessary for an important, and expensive, global release like this.
The timing of this debut isn’t particularly surprising, though, since this time on the calendar would have typically been the ideal time for a studio to kick its marketing machine into high gear for a big July release. This provides yet another indication that the studio (and, almost certainly, Nolan himself) have not abandoned hope of sticking to the July window.
