The project is described as an event film, but nothing else is known about Nolan’s latest venture. The writer-director has a propensity for secrecy, penning his scripts away from any prying eyes. Furthermore, he is of such a stature that he can attract the actors he wants, package his project with thespians and then present it to a studio with what amounts to a simple yes or no question: Are you in or are you out?

Nolan is coming off of the World War II film Dunkirk, which won three Academy Awards and earned the filmmaker his first best director Oscar nomination. The Warner Bros. film grossed $526.9 million globally.

The release date for the upcoming film makes sense for Nolan, who has a predisposition for July releases. Of his last five movies, four have opened in that mid-July sweet spot, including 2008's The Dark Knight, 2010's Inception, 2012's The Dark Knight Rises and 2017's Dunkirk. Interstellar was the exception, bowing in November 2014.

There are a few other films also slated to debut on July 17, 2020: Paramount's SpongeBob Movie and Fox's Bob's Burgers. Disney's Jungle Cruise, starring Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, is set to open a week later.

Nolan is currently more than 20 years into his directing career. After releasing his $6,000 feature debut, Following, in 1998, he broke out with 2000's Memento, which earned him and his brother, Jonathan Nolan, best screenplay Oscar nominations. He has gone on to carve out a reputation for crafting cerebral blockbusters, which have also included 2002's Insomnia and 2006's The Prestige.