'Tenet' Trailer: Christopher Nolan's Mysterious Thriller Wants To Save Movie Theaters

Can Christopher Nolan save the movies with Tenet? Everyone sure hopes so, and they're looking to Nolan's latest action mind-bender to jumpstart movie-going after so many theaters have been shut down. As is usually the case with a new Nolan movie, we don't know much about it – save for the suggestion that the story involves some way to alter time while not being a time travel movie. Watch the latest Tenet trailer below.

I have only one word for you – Tenet. What does it mean? Don't ask me! Ask Christopher Nolan, because he holds all the cards. Nolan is one of the few modern directors to have carte blanche to do whatever the hell he wants, which means he's able to throw around huge sums of money on big movies that aren't afraid to be a little cerebral, and it looks like Tenet is no exception.

Tenet is described as "an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage." Beyond that, though, your guess is as good as mine. It's clear from the footage that Tenet deals with some way to alter time, which lead many – including me – to think this was a time travel movie. But when co-star Robert Pattinson was asked about time travel during his now-infamous trash pasta interview, he stated: "There's actually no time traveling. [laughs] That's, like, the one thing I'm approved to say." So now I have no idea what the hell to think.

To carry his mysterious new movie, Nolan put together a cast that includes John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Clémence Poésy, with Michael Caine and Kenneth Branagh.

Behind the scenes, Nolan shot Tenet using a mixture of IMAX and 70mm, with a crew that includes director of photography Hoyte van Hoytema, production designer Nathan Crowley, editor Jennifer Lame, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, visual effects supervisor Andrew Jackson, and special effects supervisor Scott Fisher. The score is composed by Ludwig Göransson.

Tenet certainly looks thrilling, and I personally can't wait to see it. But the question remains: will the film keep its July release date? Is that even possible? Nolan, Warner Bros., and theater owners are all counting on it, but I continue to have my doubts. One thing is for sure: Nolan will never, ever, ever accept the idea of dropping Tenet directly to VOD. So if the July 17 date doesn't work out, you can expect the film to get pushed to a later (theatrical) release. It's worth noting that there's no release date on this trailer – just a message teasing "Coming to Theaters." But when?