Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler have teamed up once again for Sinners, a new original horror film written and directed by Coogler. This marks their fifth collaboration following Fruitvale Station, Creed and the Black Panther films.

Jordan plays twin brothers who return to their hometown hoping to escape their past, only to face something far more sinister. The film also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller and Delroy Lindo. It was filmed in New Orleans and produced by Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler. Executive producers include Ludwig Göransson, Will Greenfield and Rebecca Cho.

Coogler brought back his key collaborators from Black Panther, including cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, production designer Hannah Beachler, editor Michael P. Shawver, composer Göransson and costume designer Ruth E. Carter.

Michael B. Jordan says original story gave them ‘more freedom’

Jordan said working on an original story with Coogler gave them more creative flexibility than their previous projects.

“I think more of the freedom to not have to align with an existing IP or and expectations and preconceived notions of what something is or not,” he told Blavity’s Shadow and Act in our recent cast interview. “He was able to be the architect of the world, you know what I mean? And I got a chance to live in it.”

He added, “There was something freeing in that, that the rules were being made by him and you didn’t have to think about any of the other extra baggage and things that came along with, I guess maybe some of those other ones. Nothing wrong with that, but just in general, this one was a little bit more freeing.”

Ryan Coogler draws inspiration from Southern mysticism and traditions, as well as family

For Coogler, the film’s foundation came from his own family and cultural background, particularly his late uncle James Edmonds.

“I listen to blues music for one reason and one reason only, man. It’s to remember my uncle James Edmonds, who passed away in 2015,” he told us. “Born and raised in Mississippi, moved to Oakland, married my grandmother’s little sister. And I would listen to those records when I went to spend time with him. After he died, it took on a new meaning.”

“When I play those records, if I close my eyes and I’m in the right space, I feel I can feel him next to me. This screenplay was written in that state,” he said. “I was writing things I think my uncle would laugh at, things I think my uncle would enjoy. And I took that through the whole entire process with me.”

Coogler said that energy continued during filming in New Orleans, which he described as a spiritually charged place.

“They call [New Orleans] a haunted city. It was my first time being there, and I left convinced that that city is haunted, but with Black spirits. So I was very comfortable,” he said. “I mean, I felt like somebody was always rubbing my back. You know what I mean? If that makes sense.”

He said the spiritual foundation of the film extended beyond just one culture.

“That’s in blues music. Blues music goes hand in hand with the church. It’s there in the Black church, and it’s not just a Black thing down there,” he said. “You got Chinese Americans down there, you got obviously the Indigenous First Nations down there. In this case, Choctaw. You got Irish people down there. I mean, it’s all steeping in the same—”

Jordan jumped in: “That gumbo.”

Sinners is in theaters now.