Ryan Coogler’s Doppelgänger Dilemma in "Sinners"

In today’s world, where there are so many incredible options available, it’s essential to have multiple compelling reasons to commit to a project. This sentiment was echoed by Ryan Coogler when he spoke about his decision to center his latest film, Sinners, around twin brothers.

While there’s no doubt that twins are fascinating, Coogler admitted he has a certain level of apprehension when it comes to doppelgängers. However, this fear didn’t stop him from making the bold choice to feature twin characters in his film.

Despite his personal fears, Coogler chose to focus on twin brothers played by Michael B. Jordan in Sinners. The director shared this amusing revelation during a recent appearance on the Good Hang With Amy Poehler podcast. When Poehler asked why he decided to make Jordan’s characters twins, given the challenges that come with such a decision, Coogler had a clear answer.

"For sure," Coogler said. "I mean, look, it was a hook for me. It was so sticky, right? In this day and age I think you need multiple reasons to lean in when there’s so many great things available."

He added, "There are so many ways to spend time. So for me, I think that I’m a firm believer in things having multiple hooks, you know what I mean? And it’s a hook for me because I have twins in my family, and I love them, and I got a lot of homies as twins, but I also have a crippling fear of doppelgängers, like a straight phobia. You know what I mean?"

During the conversation, Poehler laughed and said she didn’t fully understand what he meant. She then asked if his fear stemmed from a concern about meeting his own doppelgänger. Coogler responded with a humorous admission: "Yeah, I’ve had nightmares like that." Poehler then suggested that "the idea of twins in general is a little creepy" and that the concept of "someone who was in the womb with you" is also unsettling.

"Yeah, that’s fascinating to me," Coogler agreed. "And we dug deep with Mike [Jordan]. Like I got two buddies who are filmmakers, Noah and Logan Miller… I actually asked them if they would be open to being consultants on the movie, like to work with me and Mike on developing the characters."

Coogler continued, "And we dug so deep into the mindset and the dynamics of what it’s like to have essentially a copy of yourself next to you all the time, you know. But Mike, he just knocked me back by his brilliance and how he portrayed these characters."

In Sinners, which Coogler directed and wrote, Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown to start fresh, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them.

The film, and Jordan’s dual performance, are major players in this year’s awards race. It was up for seven awards at the Golden Globes, where it won two, and the film had a leading 17 nominations at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, where it won four.