It’s no secret that, as far as directors go, Christopher Nolan is as mysterious as they come. Even with the official announcement of his next film entitled Tenet and described as an “action epic revolving around the world of international espionage,” it is anyone’s guess as to what high-concept plot Nolan is going to treat the audience to.
Despite the plot details being murky as ever, there has been several major cast and crew announcements. Leading the cast is John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman) alongside Robert Pattinson (Good Time) and Elizabeth Debicki (Widows), with Nolan again boasting a hugely talented main cast but more importantly a diverse one. Unsurprisingly, Michael Caine finds his way into the support cast alongside Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, Dimple Kapadia and Kenneth Branagh, who is marking his second film with Nolan after Dunkirk.
Perhaps the most shocking news from the film’s official announcement is the news that Hans Zimmer, for the first time since The Prestige, will not be scoring a Nolan film, given his commitment to Denis Villeneuve’s Dune. However, Ludwig Göransson, fresh off his Oscar win for Black Panther, will undoubtedly do a stellar job of filling the Zimmer-sized hole. After collaborating with Nolan on both Interstellar and Dunkirk, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema is set to serve as the Director of Photography for a third time on Tenet, a huge coup considering Interstellar and Dunkirk are arguably Nolan’s most visually striking films to date. In terms of writing, Nolan will be penning the original screenplay solo, which again hints that he’ll be keeping his cards very close to his chest.
So, despite a lack of plot details and a presumably a muted marketing campaign to follow, the hype is certainly real for Tenet. Featuring an already stacked cast and crew that will presumably grow as filming continues and following a theme not too dissimilar to Inception, it’s clear Tenet is going to be an event movie. Set for release on IMAX on July 17 2020, expect big things from Nolan’s 11th feature film.
Words by Elliott Jones