Tenet is back with a new trailer, which made its world debut on Fortnite Thursday. The film has been subject to speculation over whether it will stick to the July 17 date Warner Bros. set for the film, which has been the only summer tentpole not to shift dates amid the coronavirus pandemic. Though the trailer for the Christopher Nolan tentpole did not include a release date, the biography for the film's Twitter page now includes the July 17 date after it curiously disappeared earlier Thursday.
In December, Warner Bros. dropped the first trailer for Tenet, but in the five months since, the marketing for the film had gone all but dark as the world adjusted to the coronavirus pandemic, which saw theaters close around the globe and theatrical marketing campaigns shut down. But on Wednesday, Tenet came back to life with a surprise TV spot, followed by Thursday's trailer.
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Nolan, a strong proponent for the theatrical experience, has pushed to keep the July 17 date. His new film stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Dimple Kapadia and Clémence Poésy.
If Tenet does indeed open July 17, social distancing measures will keep theaters less than full, but box office observers note Nolan's film and Mulan could still be successes; there will be fewer films to compete with, and U.S. theaters are often only half full even busy weekends.
It was also announced during the Tenet trailer that Fortnite will host a full-length free screening of one of Nolan's previous film for fans this summer, marking a true merging of blockbuster films and video games.
The Tenet trailer marks the most significant piece of film marketing to ever hit Fortnite. In December, the game turned heads when J.J. Abrams and Lucasfilm debuted an exclusive scene from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ahead of the film's release. Since then, Fortnite has delved even more into areas of entertainment outside of gaming. In April, Epic Games’ free-to-play battle royale hit saw rapper Travis Scott appear virtually in the game, performing his new single “Astronomical.” The event drew a record 12 million concurrent views. Earlier in February, DJ Marshmello hosted an in-game concert, drawing 10 million concurrent players.
