For much of `Tenet,` Washington's The Protagonist is under the assumption that he has only recently met Robert Pattinson's operative Neil to work together on the movie's mission to prevent World War III. Nolan's ending reveals that the two characters have known each other for many years (or will know each other) given the reverse flow of time. It was The Protagonist who recruited Neil to join the eponymous spy program, The Protagonist just hasn't gotten to that point on the timeline. The reveal leaves the door open for `Tenet 2` to explore any number of Protagonist-Neil adventures.
`In my mind, that's a yes!` Washington told Esquire about `Tenet` setting up a sequel. `We will be doing this again, we'll see you in a couple of years. In reality, I don't know. Chris does what he wants. Maybe he has something that he's developed for years that he wants to do next, maybe he's been inspired by something else he sees and wants to do that, I don't know. I hope we get to do it again, I hope we get to explore more, because I think we found something really unique.`
A potential `Tenet 2` could also touch upon one of the more popular fan theories floating around the internet about Nolan's latest tentpole. In the film, Elizabeth Debicki's Kat is determined to save her young son Max from his villainous father, Kenneth Branagh's Russian oligarch Sator. Some fans believe that Max is a child version of Neil given the flexible flow of time, to which Washington told Esquire, `I saw that one the other day - I like that!