Ryan Coogler reveals ‘Sinners' scene that made him lose his ‘mind'

Ryan Coogler is opening up about one of the most stressful moments he faced while making Sinners, and surprisingly, it had nothing to do with vampires or the film’s 1930s setting. 

Instead, the director says the scene that nearly broke him involved timing, precision and a moving car.

After the film earned widespread praise and major awards attention, Coogler reflected on the experience during EW’s Awardist podcast.

He pointed to a driving sequence featuring Michael B. Jordan and his double, Percy Bell, who play twin brothers Smoke and Stack. 

What looks effortless on screen, he said, was anything but.

“Every day was different. Every scene was different. Watching the movie, there are certain scenes you wouldn’t think were difficult,” Coogler explained. 

Then he recalled what stood out most, “You remember the day I almost lost my mind — where you guys had to drive the car and get into the bushes? Pulling off that shot was f***ing crazy, because Mike’s driving, and we had to do a repeated pass of the car driving up and landing, them getting out of the car with the correct timing, and then interacting with the bush with the correct timing.”

The challenge went beyond just hitting marks. 

Coogler noted that the twins move differently in subtle ways, from how they walk to how they exit a vehicle. 

“You can see the difference in performance, but also, because of the timing, they have to enter the bushes in a certain way,” he said, explaining how even small mismatches could ruin the illusion.

Despite the pressure and repetition, Coogler admitted the hard work paid off. 

He said the scene ultimately “looks good” in the final cut, a result that feels especially rewarding given how close it came to unraveling on set.

Sinners, released by Warner Bros., has become one of the year’s most talked-about horror films and is currently nominated for seven Golden Globes, including Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Motion Picture — Drama. 

The film follows twin brothers Stack and Smoke, played by Jordan, who return to their Mississippi Delta hometown in 1932 to open a juke joint that soon turns into a deadly trap when musical vampires descend.

For Coogler, the moment serves as a reminder that sometimes the most challenging scenes are the ones audiences never suspect.