Ryan Coogler breaks down the new trailer for Sinners

From Ryan Coogler—director of Black Panther and Creed—and starring Michael B. Jordan comes a new vision of fear: Sinners.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

“You keep dancing with the devil, one day he’s gonna follow you home.”

The new trailer for Sinners has dropped, and audiences are in for a wild ride. Coogler’s gritty-looking, intense vampire flick sees Michael B. Jordan adopting dual roles as the twin brothers facing a supernatural force in their home town. This new trailer is electrifying, showcasing how blues music connects to the spirituality of black culture in the States, along with some bloody and visceral vampire action! Watch the new trailer here:

To celebrate the trailer’s launch, Nick L’Barrow attending the international virtual press conference with Ryan Coogler, who broke down the film’s trailer and teased what audiences can expect from his fifth collaboration with Michael B. Jordan.

On working with Michael B. Jordan for a fifth time…

Ryan Coogler: Man, it’s incredible. Mike, he was a working actor when I met him. He had been on some incredible television shows. He’d basically been a professional actor since he was, you know, a school kid. But he hadn’t had a feature length movie role where he was the lead yet.

So, when we worked together on Fruitvale Station, that was the first time he had a lead role in a movie, and that was my first time making a movie. So, in many ways, we’ve grown up together in an industry, in these situations, and have definitely found a kindred spirit.

He’s someone who’s incredibly gifted. It’s like a God given charisma, his ability to channel empathy without even trying. But the other facets that are under his control, like his work ethic, his dedication to the craft, and the constant desire to want to push himself to increase his capacity, to continue his stretch.

We have become like family. It’s an incredible gift to have somebody you can call up and say, “Hey, I’ve got a new one for you!” And I know that he is always trying to look for new challenges constantly. He doesn’t want to rest on his laurels. And I thought this role would be something that could challenge each of us.

On Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers…

Ryan Coogler: It was really interesting, man, and it’s so exciting. A lot of movies coming out with actors playing those different roles, like Mickey 17 and The Monkey! I’m trying to see all of those!

But with these two guys, there’s nothing supernatural about them outside of them being identical twins. Now, when you dig into the research on twins, it is pretty strange! People still don’t totally understand the specificities of having identical twins, because it’s not something that can be inherited.

I have a couple of friends of mine, who are filmmakers, Nolan and Logan Miller, and we hired them as twin consultants. They are about the same age as Mike, and they were able to talk to Mike and myself about what it is like to have an identical twin. And some of that work is just fascinating. Like this idea that ever since you’ve achieved consciousness, there was another version of you sharing that space, and how they see the world.

And we used those subtleties that Mike found in both performances. I can’t wait for folks to see him. It’s Mike unlike we have ever seen him before… and I know him pretty well!

On Sinners being a project quite personal to Coogler…

Ryan Coogler: Absolutely. I’ve been blessed each time I’ve made a film, and they’ve all become more and more personal. And with this one, I was really digging into two relationships. One with my maternal grandfather, who I never met. He died about a year before I was born, right? But he was from Merrill, Mississippi, and moved to marry my grandmother, and built a house that our whole family was based in.

And I had an uncle named Uncle James, who I came up with my whole life. He passed away while I was in post-production on Creed, and he was from another town in Mississippi, but he wouldn’t really talk about Mississippi unless he was listening to the blues. Not unless he a little sip of whiskey and reminisce! I miss him profoundly.

But I kind of got a chance to dig into my own ancestral history here in the States and go to the South and scout places. And the film is about music, and that was so special to my uncle, man. I couldn’t be happier with the film that we have.

On Sinners being not just a vampire film…

Ryan Coogler: I mean, the film is very genre fluid, you know. It switches in and out of a lot of different genres. Yes, vampires are an element of the movie, but that’s not the only element. It’s not the only supernatural element. The film is about a lot more than that. I think it’s going to surprise folks, in a good way.

I was aspiring to make something in the tradition of the films I love with supernatural elements. It’s really a personal love letter for me, to cinema. To the art form, and specifically the theatrical experience. It’s interesting working in a post COVID time, you know. I found myself missing that experience of doing things in a room with others, seeing them react in different ways and enjoying a film in that capacity.

A big inspiration for the film was the novel Salem’s Lot, which has been adapted a few times. And I got to explore lots of interesting characters and culture and meet them up with a mythological force of natures that starts to influence the town. One of the things that we explore in the film is blues music and blues culture, and that became so many things that affect what we do today.

On shooting Sinners for IMAX…

Ryan Coogler: It was an incredible experience. I got some advice from Christopher [Nolan] and Emma [Thomas], who are kind of master’s at this form. It was honestly fantastic.

With large format photography, were doing something that hasn’t been done before, which is combining Ultra Panavision, which was used most recently on The Hateful Eight, with full frame IMAX film photography – 15 perf, 65 mm film. And the whole effort was for the experience to be immersive, and we fought for that experience.

The movie is set in a time that’s often overlooked in American history, especially for black folks. My grandparents were a part of this world. But for me, I got to have conversations with my grandmother, who is almost 100 years old, and do some heavy research, and it was exciting. And to bring this time period to life with the cellular format that was around, but with the technological advancements we have now, it can provide a perfect marriage.

Thank you to Ryan Coogler and Warner Bros. Pictures for inviting us to the press conference. Sinners is in cinemas April 17.

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Nick L'Barrow
Nick L'Barrow
Nick is a Brisbane-based film/TV reviewer. He gained his following starting with his 60 second video reviews of all the latest releases on Instagram (@nicksflicksfix), before launching a monthly podcast with Peter Gray called Monthly Movie Marathon. Nick contributes to Novastream with interviews and reviews for the latest blockbusters.