How Fear Made Ryan Coogler Create Dual Roles for Michael B. Jordan in ‘Sinners’

Sinners writer/director Ryan Coogler has revealed what inspired him to introduce a set of twins as the main characters in the horror film. In Sinners, Michael B. Jordan gives life to both Smoke and Stack Moore, the twins returning to Clarksdale and facing a horde of hungry and vicious vampires. While this adds some difficulty to the project due to an actor playing a dual role, Coogler always planned the story to take place around twins because it was the proper “hook.”

Coogler recently appeared on the podcast Good Hang with Amy Poehler, where he spoke about his inspiration for Sinners, as well as working alongside Ludwig Göransson to develop the film’s strong musical backdrop. The director revealed that the Oscar-winning composer was involved in the film even before there was a script. When discussing the early stages of Sinners, Poehler asked whether actor Michael B. Jordan’s role was always planned as a set of twins, and Coogler said:

“It was a hook for me. In this day and age, you need multiple reasons to lean in. I’m a firm believer in things having multiple hooks. It’s a hook for me because I have twins in my family, and I love them. But I also have a crippling fear of doppelgängers, like a straight phobia.

“We dug deep into the mindset and the dynamics of what it’s like to have a copy of yourself next to you all the time.”

‘Sinners’ Won Two Golden Globes – Is Oscar Glory Next?

Ever since Sinners rose to prominence in 2025 as one of the year’s most notable horror movies, fans began a strong campaign leading up to the awards seasons of 2026. When nominations from several organizations were announced, Coogler’s vampire film was featured in numerous categories. Sinners was officially participating in the awards race.

At the Critics Choice Awards, Sinners earned a whopping 13 nominations, and won four of them. The Golden Globes came next, and out of seven nominations, the feature won in two categories: Cinematic and Box Office Achievement and Best Original Score. This recognition from the awards body got a bit of a negative reaction from fans who claimed Sinners was deserving of the more “serious” awards, like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, etc.

The Oscars are next, and even though the film is definitely a strong contender at Hollywood’s most important ceremony, the competition is still very tight. While the Golden Globes could predict some wins, the division between two genres for the most important awards just makes these predictions a bit more complicated.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another seems to be the favorite among critics’ organizations, but it does feel that Anderson’s simply getting overdue recognition. It’s also the year of Timothée Chalamet, who’s compiling all kinds of awards because of his staggering performance in Marty Supreme, meaning Michael B. Jordan’s odds of having a chance at Best Actor are not good. For now, Best Original Score seems to be the only predictable Oscar win for Coogler’s modern horror classic, though it deserves more. A lot more.