Ryan Coogler shared that Sinners would not be getting a sequel as it was always meant to be a standalone film.
Coogler, who previously worked on franchise hits like Black Panther in 2018 and Creed in 2015, said he specifically wanted to be part of a film that would hold up on its own.
“I’ve been in a space of making franchise films for a bit, so I wanted to get away from that,” he told Ebony magazine. “I was looking forward to working on a film that felt original and personal to me and had an appetite for delivering something to audiences that was original and unique.”
The supernatural horror film, produced, written and directed by Coogler, stars Michael B Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack who return to their Mississippi hometown to start over, only to learn that a great evil is waiting for them.
The film also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Miles Caton, and Jack O’Connell.
“I wanted the movie to feel like a full meal: your appetizers, starters, entrees and desserts, I wanted all of it there. I wanted it to be a holistic and finished thing. That was how I was asked all about it. That was always my intention,” the filmmaker said.
Clarisse Loughrey wrote in a four-star review for The Independent that Sinners felt like “some kind of final stand for original ideas”, adding that “one can only hope audiences recognise its bounty of riches”.
“Coogler intertwines song and the supernatural, linking West African traditions with the legendary claim that bluesman Robert Johnson acquired his talents when he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads,” she said.
“These ideas climax in a spectacular sequence in which Sinners briefly escapes its reality to draw a visual line between the past and present of Black music. Its opening monologue speaks of music’s ability to ‘pierce the veil between life and death’. Sinners, in all its beauty and horror, proves the same can be true of film.”
Since its theatrical release in April, Sinners has consistently dominated at the box office, alongside Marvel’s Thunderbolts and Final Destination: Bloodlines. It has made over $267m at the domestic box office and $83m globally, according to Box Office Mojo.
Nearly two months into its theatrical run, it’s reported that Sinners will be out on streaming platforms and VOD on 3 June. It’s already available for pre-order on Amazon’s Prime Video and is also expected to be available on Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and YouTube, per Forbes.
