‘Tenet’ trailer: Christopher Nolan amps up the mystery in new time warp

Let’s do the Christopher Nolan time warp again.

Warner Bros. on Thursday released the first trailer for the filmmaker’s mysterious and highly anticipated “Tenet,” starring “BlacKkKlansman” breakout John David Washington. And while the suspenseful preview doesn’t give enough clues to puzzle out its plot just yet, its emphasis on time travel predicts a trippy Nolan special.

“To do what I do, I need some idea of the threat we face,” Washington’s character says ominously while prepping for what appears to be a top-secret mission.

Set in “the afterlife” of a world of international espionage, “Tenet” follows Washington’s operative as he races against the clock to prevent World War III. Though it’s unclear exactly how his character was recruited for the job, it seems to require some trademark Nolan time hops.

“Nuclear holocaust?” Washington asks in an attempt to get a better idea of the impending global doom he’s up against.

“No,” answers a cryptic Elizabeth Debicki. “Something worse.”

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Written and directed by Nolan, “Tenet” also features Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Clémence Poésy, Himesh Patel and Robert Pattinson, who appears briefly at the end of the trailer. Hints at a nonchronological narrative are reminiscent of other Nolan projects, such as “Inception,” “The Prestige” and especially his critically acclaimed sophomore effort, “Memento,” which follows a young man suffering from memory loss on a quest to trace the events that led to his wife’s death.

“What happened here?” Pattinson asks as he and Washington examine a bullet-damaged window.

“It hasn’t happened yet,” Washington responds.

“Tenet” hits theaters July 17.