5 things you need to know about Sinners, the most anticipated horror movie of the year, according to Black Panther director Ryan Coogler

You can always count on Black Panther director Ryan Coogler to tell bold, powerful stories. From Cannes award-winning debut drama Fruitvale Station to Creed and the Black Panther series, no matter the genre, the visionary auteur’s films always hold a mirror to society while packing a punch — whether physical or emotional.

Next, the filmmaker will turn his Academy Award-nominated hand to horror for the first time, with upcoming American Deep South vampire movie, Sinners. Dark, provocative and full of secrets to uncover, the new movie will explore the fractured lives of five estranged siblings who reunite in their hometown after the shocking murder of their mother.

Michael B. Jordan will star in the movie from Coogler, marking the fifth time they’ve collaborated following Jordan’s starring roles in Creed, Black Panther and Fruitvale Station, to name a few. Combining a stellar cast, rounded out by Haulee Steinfeld and Jack O’Connell, a mysterious plot and a new genre to explore for the acclaimed director-lead duo, Sinners is shaping up to be the most anticipated horror of 2025.

We caught up with Coogler to uncover the horror inspirations behind Sinners, the unique challenges of directing a vampire movie (spoiler: there will be blood), and how the movie will star not one, but two Michael B. Jordans…

1. What’s better than one Michael B. Jordan? Two Michael B. Jordans!

Creed star Jordan will take the lead not once, but twice, as he plays identical twins making an ominous return to their hometown.

“These are identical twins but, also, that concept of twins — like every neighborhood where I was from coming up had — they’d be notorious, kind of like local celebrities,” explains Coogler.

“They are identical twins, but they are two different people. It's not as simple as two sides of the same coin — there's a dynamic that exists with identical twins.”

That even meant having ‘twin consultants’ on the movie — fellow filmmakers and identical twins Logan and Noah Miller — says Coogler.

“They worked with Mike on the mindset of sharing a womb with somebody, growing up with them, and how unique of a dynamic that is, but at the same time, not making it a caricature.”

Sinners will mark the fifth big collaboration between Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, a longstanding movie match which the two have built on ever since Coogler’s first feature film, Fruitvale Station.

Coogler explains their dynamic: “We've become friends and continue to challenge each other. So it's been a great working relationship and a great personal relationship.”

He revealed that the shared experience of grieving for Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman in 2020 also solidified their relationship off and on screen. “What we went through with losing Chadwick, man, it made us both, I think, appreciate each other even more.”

2. Expect a “genre-fluid” mashup of horror, vampires and more…

Sinners will feature vampires, confirms Coogler. The director tells us that “there are vampires in the film, but it's really about a lot more than just that.

“It's one of many elements, and I think we're gonna surprise people with it.”

And while a vampire movie may sound a world away from the likes of Creed and Black Panther, perhaps that’s not completely true, given we shouldn’t expect a typical horror movie.

“It’s unique… it’s a genre-bending, genre-fluid film,” reveals Coogler.

3. Sinners may be supernatural — but it’s also super personal

The film is set in Mississippi, a place that the Californian filmmaker also has a personal family connection to.

“My maternal grandfather is from Mississippi, and my Uncle James, who passed away while I was finishing up Creed, was also from Mississippi, and it was a place I had never been," explains Coogler.

In fact, the entire movie came from these family relationships.

"The seed of the movie started with that relationship with my uncle — how he would listen to blues music all the time. He would only talk about Mississippi when he was listening to that music. He had a profound effect on my life, and I got a chance to dig into my own ancestral history with this film. It's been extremely rewarding."

4. A diverse range of horror has inspired the movie

Though the plot of the much-anticipated movie is being kept under wraps so far, Coogler shares what his inspiration has been — paying particular attention to a diverse array of horror classics.

“Robert Rodriguez is a big one. It's actually quite close to The Faculty, which is a remake of The Thing, which is one of my favourite movies, and definitely my favourite horror movie, so there’s a lot of Carpenter in the film, as well.”

The influences span beyond the big screen, too, adds Coogler.

“Truthfully, the biggest influences are not in cinema. The novel ‘Salem's Lot’ had a massive influence on the film.”

Perhaps the biggest source of inspiration of all, though, for the Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe-nominated director?

“There's a real deep cut influence — my favourite thing ever made is The Twilight Zone, and my favourite episode of that is the episode called ‘The Last Rites of Jeff Myrtlebank’.”

In the 1962 episode of the iconic horror anthology, set in a small 1920s town in the American Midwest, a man comes back to life at his own funeral — and seems even less human in the days that follow.

5. Expect visual effects “to creep people out” — that even freaked out Coogler

Coogler is on a mission to creep people out, he tells us — and the visual effects in Sinners will play a major part.

“We worked with Mike Fontaine, who's incredible. He did a film called Green Room — which is also another influence on this film — I remember some of the effects, like the duct tape scene, made me look away.”

In the same way, for Sinners, Coogler was “digging into it with him, and finding all those moments that can make people look away… we were really working to creep people out when the time is right in the movie. It was an interesting challenge.”

Cinema audiences won’t be the first to get creeped out by the movie’s effects though, with Coogler already having experienced the full force of the horror effects first-hand. They taught Coogler one big lesson in horror movie-making: “You’ve got to dress a certain way! I direct close to the camera; close to the actors, and certain days we got covered in blood!”

Sinners will hit cinemas April 18, 2025.

Lead Image Credit: Arturo Holmes / Getty Images

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