If there’s one thing that has been very commonplace since COVID-19 came into play, it is the constant delay or cancellation of media: be it games, TV shows or movies. Unfortunately, no movie is spared from this reality, regardless of the anticipation for them or the director that is behind them. That’s why yet another movie has been delayed, and not just for a brief time either.
Director Christopher Nolan’s much anticipated film Tenet has once again been officially delayed, and this time that delay is indefinite. Of course, that indefinite delay is technically temporary, as obviously the movie will be returned to eventually. According to a statement from the Chairman of Warner Bros., Toby Emmerich, the indefinite delay is intended to be lifted as soon as possible.
Nolan’s latest movie in production has recently (and no doubt frustratingly for him) been noticed more for its release status than the actual story it will present, though it’s worth noting that such information hasn’t been revealed yet anyway. The film was supposed to come to hit theaters on July 17 originally, and was initially pushed back not once, but twice, ultimately to August 12. As one might expect, these delays were enacted because of concerns over COVID-19 and how to stay safe against it. On top of that, there was the concern about audiences gathering in movie theaters, which would obviously be bad with the Coronavirus going around.
As of right now, a new potential release date has not been set yet, though they have stated that one will be set soon. Of course, there’s just as much of a chance of the new release date getting pushed back as well.
In the statement, Emmerich said, “We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that… We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for Tenet, Christopher Nolan’s wholly original and mind-blowing feature. Unfortunately, the pandemic continues to proliferate, causing us to re-evaluate our release dates.”
It’s no secret that Christopher Nolan is an avid believer that film as a medium meant to be experienced on the big screen, so one could be forgiven for thinking that he would want his new film to only be in theaters. However, he had not yet released a statement. Variety has offered up a few speculations, namely that, since theaters overseas have already begun to re-open, there’s a possibility that Tenet could receive an international release prior to a domestic one, which would certainly be unusual.
At the moment, the only thing anyone really knows about Tenet is that it will focus on a secret agent, whose mission is to prevent World War III. How or why is completely unknown. The cast of the movie, at the moment, includes Kenneth Branagh, John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Michael Caine, and Elizabeth Debicki. The identity of more actors will probably be revealed closer to the release date.
