Is Tenet The Sequel To Inception?

Rumors have circulated that Christopher Nolan's 2020 science fiction film Tenet was a secret sequel to his 2010 flick Inception.

Although the film wasn't introduced as Inception 2, fans theorized that Tenet is linked to Inception in more ways imagined. Even Tenet lead star John David Washington called his film an "in-law" to Inception.

Tenet and Inception featured mind-bending scenes sewn together in an overarching plot and rich narrative. Both talk about a mysterious, futuristic technology, have a charismatic hero, and make use of the typical Bond referencing.

So is Tenet indeed Inception 2? Let's discuss this below.

Tenet and Inception: How Are They Similar?

Tenet came a decade after Inception, and Nolan's reportedly took more than five years to write the screenplay.

Tenet stars John David Washington as a CIA agent slash the Protagonist who's tasked to save the world from impending doom. He soon finds himself in a dizzying inversion and reverse time travel, all while trying to uncover clues on important artifacts that could hold the key to save the world.

Inception and Tenet have undeniably vast, imaginative, and challenging concepts. Both films are heavily influenced by the Bond flicks and contained central heist elements attached to new technology.

Inception and Tenet push the boundaries of science, feeding the audience with rich possibilities and wild imagination.

But while the two films share vast similarities, the two have glaring differences as well.

How Is Tenet Different From Inception?

Tenet and Inception may both have played with time elements, however, they used the concept differently. In Inception, time runs differently for a dream within a dream: one week in the first dream level, six months in the second level, and ten years in the third level.

Meanwhile, Tenet introduces time more as a tool that can be manipulated and used to our advantage. The main characters themselves can travel forward and backward in time in reality to change the course of history or the future.

Aside from Inception, Tenet shares a lot with Nolan's other works too. It's similar to Memento and Dunkirk in terms of challenging linear time structure. The time-bending stunts will remind you of Interstellar, while the narrative doubling method is inspired by The Prestige. His skills in framing narrative investigations were refined in Insomnia, while The Dark Knight Trilogy sharpened his skills in incorporating complex story-telling in the pop genre.

To sum it all, Tenet is the result of Nolan's long years in the film industry. It's a gem crafted from bits of his previous masterpieces.

So, to answer the question: Is Tenet a sequel to Inception?

It was not announced officially, but we could safely say that, in some sense, Tenet is a sequel to all of Nolan's greatest works, not just Inception.

Tenet is set to release in the US on September 3, 2020.