Ryan Coogler gushes about his experience helming upcoming horror movie Sinners, revealing that in some ways he found it to be “more exciting” than working on Marvel’s Black Panther films. ComicBook.com was one of the outlets that attended a Q&A event commemorating the release of the new Sinners trailer, where Coogler discussed his history with major Hollywood franchises. “I feel like I’m the luckiest guy in the business in terms of the casts that I’ve been able to work with, but this one is up there with the best ones,” he said, praising the star-studded Sinners ensemble. “Because it wasn’t based on any pre-existing material, I think all the actors took ownership of their characters. That was so amazing.”
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Elaborating, Coogler expressed his enthusiasm about audiences going to see Sinners when it releases in theaters this spring. “This cast reminds me of the [Black] Panther films, but in a way that’s maybe more exciting in that, when audiences watch this, this is gonna be the first time they see these people – there’s no comic books on it,” he said. “They really made a community when we were filming down in the South, they really looked out for each other.”
Prior to Sinners, Coogler spent the better part of a decade working with established properties. His Rocky legacy sequel Creed, which opened in 2015, earned widespread praise and $174.1 million at the worldwide box office, paving the way for him to direct a pair of Black Panther films for Marvel. Both of those were successful, with 2018’s Black Panther breaking box office records and receiving a Best Picture nomination. Coogler is currently working on a third Black Panther movie, writing a role for Denzel Washington.
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Sinners is a period piece starring Michael B. Jordan as a pair of twin brothers who have to deal with the arrival of vampires in their hometown. Warner Bros. has been marketing the film since September 2024, when the first trailer was released. Promotional materials thus far have highlighted Sinners‘ eerie, unsettling tone. A special clip unveiled during the NFL conference championship games placed a spotlight on Jack O’Connell’s disturbing turn as a bluegrass musician.
Coogler has been very complimentary of Marvel, highlighting that he had the leeway to craft a very personal film within the confines of a massive shared cinematic universe. Even with that in mind, it’s easy to understand why he’s so excited about Sinners. Directors and actors are creative people, so there’s something appealing about building an entire world from scratch. There’s no source material Coogler and his team had to follow, allowing them maximum creative freedom. Seeing that the Sinners cast includes talents such as Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, and more, it’ll be fascinating to see what these actors do with the material. Coogler has gotten fantastic work out of his actors before (Sylvester Stallone earned an Oscar nod for Creed), and this shouldn’t be any exception.
Given the pedigree involved, Sinners is one of 2025’s most anticipated films, and if Coogler’s track record is anything to go by, it will deliver an experience that’s equal parts compelling and entertaining. Hopefully, Sinners is able to gain traction at the box office; if it’s a sizable hit, it will give Coogler even more clout to pursue future original projects. As great as it is he’s staying in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with Black Panther 3, he surely has additional standalone stories he’d like to tell down the line.
