Tenet is a 2020 spy film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who produced it with Emma Thomas. A co-production between the United Kingdom and United States, it stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh. The plot follows a secret agent who must manipulate time in order to prevent World War III.
Nolan took more than five years to write the screenplay after deliberating about Tenet's central ideas for over a decade. Casting began in March 2019, and principal photography took place in Denmark, Estonia, India, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom, and United States, starting in May 2019. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot on 70 mm and IMAX.
Delayed three times due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Tenet premiered in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2020, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 3, 2020, in IMAX, 35 mm, and 70 mm. The film received positive reviews from critics, who favorably compared it to Nolan's Inception and praised the cast's performances, though some lamented the confusing plot and impassive tone.