Nolan’s Tenet is delayed again; what it means

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s latest movie, Tenet, has been delayed yet again, according to Variety. The move may have significance beyond that.

Tenet originally was scheduled to come out on July 17. It was pushed back a couple of times, most recently to Aug. 12. Warner Bros., in effect, was gambling it could get people back into theaters amid the pandemic stemming from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Steven Zeitchik, a writer for The Washington Post, suggested the latest development may be a twist in how studios have been releasing films in recent years.

Warner Bros. left the door open for the movie to come out in other countries by the end of the summer — before it is released in the U.S. But that too will depend on conditions overseas.

The postponement scuttles Hollywood’s plan for a mid-summer reopening and is likely to delay other entertainment-reopening plans across the country.

Why should James Bond fans care about this?

No Time to Die was made during a pre-pandemic time. The notion was you’d roll out a movie as soon as possible globally.

With COVID-19, that may not be possible. The coronavirus appears to be under control in much of Asia and much of Europe. But there are major breakouts of COVID-19 in the U.S., including some of the country’s most populated states (Florida, Texas and California).

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Bond’s home studio) and Universal (which is handling No Time to Die’s international distribution) have to take all of this into account. For now, No Time to Die is scheduled to come out in November.