Christopher Nolan’s 'Tenet' may be a secret sequel to Inception

Actor John David Washington has reacted to fan theories around his upcoming film, Tenet, directed by Christopher Nolan, including the popular notion that the film is a secret sequel to the director's 2010 film Inception. "They're related by marriage," Washington told Esquire.

"I'd say [Tenet] is an in-law to Inception," Washington, son of actor Denzel Washington, said. "They're related by marriage. They get together for Thanksgivings, family barbecues, like that kind of thing. Other than that, one lives in Europe, the other one lives in Compton."

Watch the trailer of "Tenet" here 

Several people pointed out that a scene towards the end of the Tenet trailer, in which Robert Pattinson and Washington's characters have a conversation, appears to be the same limbo city from Inception. Others noted that the central time-bending conceit of the film -- described as 'inversion' -- sounds like it belongs in the same universe as Inception. "I already like Pattinson in the role he seems similar to Tom Hardy from Inception," one person wrote on Reddit. "Time Warping, Global Espionage, Training Sequences, Guys Wearing Suits Standing In The Middle Of The Street Explaining The Plot To Eachother... if this isn't an Inception sidequel, it almost looks like Nolan repeating himself. Not that I'm complaining," wrote another.

Washington also reacted to a theory that suggested the characters in Tenet have the ability to travel into the near future, from five minutes to an hour. They then live that amount of time in reverse, before arriving at the point they began at, and living the same events in actual chronology, but are aware of what will happen. Washington pretended to have had his head blown, but before he could either confirm or deny the theory, he was bleeped out.

Tenet was slated for a July 17 release in theatres, but that looks unlikely because of the coronavirus pandemic. The trailer did, however, assert that the film would be released 'only in cinemas', putting to bed notions that it was headed to streaming. Nolan has long been a champion of the big screen experience, and has shot Tenet on a mixture of large-format film, including IMAX.

Also starring Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine and others, Tenet is Nolan's first film since Dunkirk.