Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’ is based on his “personal obsession”. The film has already generated significant buzz at early screenings, with critics praising its unique blend of historical elements and supernatural themes.
The 38-year-old writer-and-director’s latest movie is a period vampire thriller set in 1930s Mississippi, close to where his own ancestors lived, and he admitted the themes of slavery, poverty, war, the Ku Klux Klan, spiritualism and blues music were all very important to him. This region experienced a dramatic population decline during the Great Migration period that Coogler references in his work.
“I was bringing my whole life to it,” he told The Guardian newspaper. The filmmaker spent several years researching historical accounts and family stories to create an authentic portrayal of the era.
“I’ve been struggling to tell a story that does the great migration for a while. It’s a personal obsession of mine, this period of time when Black people were considering leaving the south en masse. The Great Migration represents one of the most significant demographic shifts in American history, forever changing the cultural landscape of the country.
“[My late uncle and I] were really close, and he would always listen to blues records – it was his only form of entertainment. I would find myself listening to blues records to remember him. The Mississippi Delta blues that influenced the film originated in the early 20th century and became a cornerstone of American musical heritage.
“That’s how I got inspired to explore and research, and that’s how I got to this movie. The production incorporated original blues compositions to create an immersive soundtrack that honors the period.
“So it’s me growing and dealing with my own position, my own mortality.” Coogler visited historical sites in Mississippi during pre-production to better understand the geographical and cultural landscape of his story.
The movie stars Ryan’s frequent collaborator Michael B. Jordan as twins Smoke and Stack and the director felt the “challenge” of the dual roles would spark his friend’s interest. This marks their fourth feature film collaboration, following “Fruitvale Station,” “Creed,” and “Black Panther.”
“He’s an incredibly kind man, a humble man, generous, but he does have a raging ambition within him,” he said. Jordan developed distinct physical mannerisms and vocal patterns to differentiate between the twin characters.
“If you can offer him something that he hasn’t done before, that, on the surface, is a challenge, you have a better chance of getting his interest – especially with me, because we’ve done so much together.” The production used innovative filming techniques to create seamless scenes featuring both characters on screen.
The ‘Black Panther’ filmmaker thinks he and Michael differ in the same way Smoke and Stack do in the film, making them a “good pairing”. Their creative partnership has produced critically acclaimed work across multiple genres.
“Mike is very like Stack, in terms of his ambition. He’s a wild dreamer. He comes up with incredible ideas and concepts, and oftentimes I’m like: ‘Bro, that’s impossible.’ So we make a good pairing.” The film was shot on location in rural Mississippi to capture authentic settings.
Meanwhile, Michael recently revealed that Ryan convinced him that he could become a movie star. Before their collaboration, Jordan was known primarily for television roles.
“It’s extremely important to me … I feel like, at a time, earlier in my career when I was figuring out what type of actor I wanted to be, lead actor, you know, like where do I stand in entertainment industry? Only been a part of ensembles and in this nature, never opened a movie before, never been a lead of a film before, so I was searching for that and Ryan was the first director to believe in that, and tell me I was a movie star and believed it and made me believe it, you know?” Their first film together, “Fruitvale Station,” launched both of their careers to new heights.
“Sinners” represents Coogler’s most ambitious project to date, combining historical drama with supernatural elements while exploring themes of family, heritage, and racial identity. The film’s attention to period-specific details in clothing, architecture, and cultural artifacts creates an immersive viewing experience.
The vampire thriller genre provides Coogler with a unique framework to explore historical trauma and resilience. By setting the story in the midst of the Great Migration, he connects supernatural elements with real historical experiences of Black Americans during a pivotal moment in history.
Critics have already noted the film’s visual style, which blends elements of Southern Gothic with vampire mythology in ways that feel both fresh and deeply rooted in American cultural traditions. The blues music that inspired Coogler serves as both soundtrack and thematic element throughout the narrative.
