Christopher Nolan's Tenet won't be in theaters until July of 2020, which is nearly a year away. But Warner Bros. is wasting no time promoting the secretive project. This weekend, they are quietly slipping the teaser trailer for Nolan's mysterious movie into theaters, and fans attending early screenings of Hobbs and Shaw were surprised and excited to see it, even if the footage unspooled was relatively short.

The Tenet trailer has not appeared online at this time. And so far, leaked links only go straight to that dang Cats trailer that had everyone so bothered over the course of Comic-Con. The Tenet trailer clocks in at a swift 40 seconds, and reveals next to nothing about the plot. Thus far, Warner Bros. hasn't announced when we might see this first look footage online, but someone with an iPhone will surely have it up and on social media soon.

The trailer is screening exclusively with Universal's Hobbs and Shaw. As for what Nolan fans will get to see if they head to the theater, only star John David Washington appears on screen. We get to see the logo. And there is this mysteriously delicious tagline.

"It's time for a new protagonist."

While fans were surprised to see the trailer hit so early, many suspected Christopher Nolan was planning a few tricks to turn out word for what is expected to be a giant blockbuster tentpole next summer. Nolan is a strong proponent of the theatrical experience, and it was expected that he'd debut the trailer on the big screen before it got any kind of online debut. He has refused to kowtow to Netflix and other streaming services in the recent past. In a 2017 interview with Variety, he said this.

"My entire adult life they have released straight-to-video films. As a filmmaker, when I was starting out in the '90s, your nightmare was the straight-to-video release. There's nothing new about it - what's different and new about it is selling it to Wall Street as innovation or disruption."

Thus far, only the cast list has been released for Tenet in terms of what we can really expect to see play out on screen. Robert Pattinson signed onto the mystery movie right before landing the coveted role of billionaire Bruce Wayne in The Batman, which is also housed at Warner Bros. studios. Alongside Pattinson and Washington, other cast members include Elizabeth Debicki, Robert Pattinson, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Clémence Poésy, Dimple Kapadia and Michael Caine.

Tenet is said to be a big action epic, and the plot delves into the world of international espionage. And apparently Denzel Washington's son will be playing a new type of hero. Christopher Nolan is directing the movie from his own original screenplay, which is something he most often does. This follows his WWII epic Dunkirk. It will be in theaters July 17, 2020. As of yet, there is no telling when the refined folks of the online world unwilling to shell out $12 to see a 40 second teaser attached to Hobbs & Shaw will get to lay their eyes on it. But can't imaged it will be long. The trailer's appearance in theaters was first reported by Variety.