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Tenet trailer offers more clues to new Christopher Nolan mind-bending movie

John David Washington and Robert Pattinson star in Nolan's time-twisting spy thriller, hitting theaters on Aug. 12.

Bonnie Burton
Journalist Bonnie Burton writes about movies, TV shows, comics, science and robots. She is the author of the books Live or Die: Survival Hacks, Wizarding World: Movie Magic Amazing Artifacts, The Star Wars Craft Book, Girls Against Girls, Draw Star Wars, Planets in Peril and more! E-mail Bonnie.
Bonnie Burton
2 min read
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John David Washington and Robert Pattinson star in director Christopher Nolan's movie Tenet.

Warner Bros. Pictures

With shades of Memento and Inception, Tenet is shaping up to be a mind-bender in the best way possible. Expect huge action set pieces, mystery and a dash of sci-fi from Christopher Nolan's latest.

Tenet features actor John David Washington playing an elite spy, military-type operative and time engineer, somehow all at once. A new trailer dropped inside Fortnite, and then on YouTube in May. 

Tenet was previously scheduled for theatrical release on July 17, then July 31. Now the newest theatrical release date for Tenet is Aug. 12, according to The Hollywood Reporter on Thursday. 

The movie's plot has got something to do with a test that apparently doesn't have a lot of survivors. "That test you passed?" Martin Donovan's character says to him at one point. "Not everybody goes. Welcome to the afterlife."

His mission: Stop World War III. The word "tenet" is a password that ensures people take him seriously.

In one scene, Washington sees bullet holes in glass but says the shooting hasn't happened yet. If this movie is about reverse-engineering events by bending time and space, we're in for a crazy, awesome ride.

Other scenes in the new trailer show numerous explosions, including one involving a very big plane, as well as conversations about the importance of reverse-engineering time to change the future. 

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John David Washington and Robert Pattinson in Tenet.

Warner Bros. Pictures

So Tenet isn't about time travel, it's about the people who can manipulate time and thus future events. Maybe? We'll have to wait for more trailers to reveal clues to Nolan's sci-fi world where nothing seems to be set in stone.  

Actors Martin DonovanRobert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine also star.

Also on a side note, Nolan will be showing his classic movie Inception in Fornite on Friday, and in theaters with a rerelease on July 31 to celebrate its 10th anniversary.

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Originally published on May 21. Updated June 12 with new release date. Updated again on June 25 with new release date.