20 Years Later, Christopher Nolan's Underrated Masterpiece Is Returning To Theaters

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Buena Vista Pictures DistributionWhether you’re binging the Now You See Me trilogy or just enjoying a birthday-party magician, it’s always fun to wonder how magic tricks get pulled off right before your eyes. Twenty years ago, Christopher Nolan released a dramatic thriller about Victorian-era magic, and now you’ll have another chance to see it on the silver screen.According to Variety, Disney has announced that The Prestige, Nolan’s 2006 thriller based on Christopher Priest’s 1995 novel, will return to theaters in 70mm and IMAX next year. The announcement came on the movie’s 20th anniversary, while the re-release arrives on January 29, 2027. Christopher Nolan reunited with Batman Begins actors Michael Caine and Christian Bale. | Globe Photos/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockThe Prestige stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival Victorian illusionists working to perfect a teleportation trick. The movie also stars Michael Caine as a stage engineer, Scarlett Johansson as an assistant to both magicians, and David Bowie as Nikola Tesla. It’s a fine movie in its own right, but it’s also heavy with foreshadowing about what Nolan would get up to over the next 20 years: his work with repertory actors, the story about men who sacrifice their personal lives for an obsessive mission, and the science-fiction tones sprinkled throughout are all reminiscent of future Nolan movies like Interstellar and Tenet, while the period setting brings to mind later films like Oppenheimer and The Odyssey. David Bowie appears as Nikola Tesla. | Globe Photos/ZUMA Press Wire/ShutterstockEven if you saw The Prestige in theaters two decades ago, it’s worth checking out again. Nolan has cemented himself as a proponent of large-format showings, first with Oppenheimer, and then with IMAX theaters selling out The Odyssey for months. The Prestige never enjoyed a 70mm or IMAX release, so seeing it again will be a novelty, even if you go in knowing how Nolan pulled off his sneakiest magic trick.The Prestige streams on Netflix and will return to theaters on January 19, 2027.