Christopher Nolan’s Tenet was supposed to be the blockbuster of the summer (Bill & Ted Face The Music aside, naturally), but now we’re not even sure it’ll hit theatres before the end of the year.
One thing’s for certain, the indefinitely-delayed movie won’t go straight to a streaming service like HBO Max in the US, and neither will Wonder Woman 1984, asserts AT&T CEO John Starkey. While many other movies settled for a small screen release during the pandemic, the big guns will be reserved for a big screen launch, whenever that may be.
“Do I think there can be some things that we built for theatrical release that migrates into a [streaming] construct? Sure,” Stankey said in an interview with CNBC (via The Verge). “Is It going to happen on a movie like Tenet or Wonder Woman 1984? I would be very surprised… actually, I can assure you on Tenet that’s not going to be the case.”
The confirmation comes amid growing calls for Warner Bros (which is owned by AT&T) to give film fans access to the flick. Many devoted Nolan fans have urged patience so it can be viewed in the movie theatre when it’s deemed safe for everyone to do so.
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Starkey Added: “I don’t know if I can predict when theatregoers are going to return. One of the problems around reopening theatres is you can’t go and release something like Tenet and open it up geographically. When you release to the theatre, it pretty much has to open nationwide.
“So if you have an area like Los Angeles that’s totally out of check, but you have one part of the country that’s maybe more in control, it doesn’t necessarily give you an option to go and open in half the country.
“Tenet is a move and an experience that should be seen in theatres. It was engineered to be that way. And as a result of that it needs to show up that way. Certainly Christopher [Nolan} would like it to be validated. That’s how he wants the piece of work to be seen by moviegoers.”
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
