The star and director look back on their ambitious fifth movie together.

Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler on the bloody chaos of Sinners — and that Tom Cruise Instagram shoutout

The star and director look back on their ambitious fifth movie together.

By Gerrad Hall

Gerrad Hall is an editorial director at **, overseeing movie, awards, and music coverage. He is also host of *The Awardist* podcast, and has cohosted EW's live Oscars, Emmys, SAG, and Grammys red carpet shows. He has appeared on *Good Morning America*, *The Talk*, *Access Hollywood*, *Extra!*, and other talk shows, delivering the latest news on pop culture and entertainment.

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December 8, 2025 9:00 a.m. ET

David Jon/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures

For *Sinners*, their ambitious fifth movie together, Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan didn't make it easy on themselves.

Not only did Jordan play twins, but it was also a period piece, set in 1932 Mississippi, and it's a horror movie with vampires, so when it gets bloody, it gets *really* bloody.

That's exactly what Coogler wanted. So he turned to special effects and prosthetic makeup designer Michael Fontaine, whose work he was a fan of in Jeremy Saulnier's 2015 horror movie *Green Room*.

*"Green Room* had some really graphic stomach-turning special effects makeup work, so I wanted the movie to have all the old-school practical blood and makeup," Cooger says on the latest episode of **'s *The Awardist* podcast. "A big influence for the movie is *The Thing* and all the practical effects with that, and Robert Rodriguez's work, and Quentin [Tarantino]. You just know when that blood is really pumping," he says, laughing along with Jordan, who's sitting next to him.

"We were having so much fun amidst all of the carnage," Coogler adds. "It was chaos."

Michael B. Jordan as Smoke in 'Sinners'.

Eli Adé/Warner Bros.

Jordan recalls the actors swapping stories about getting bit, and doing the biting.

"If you got turned later on in the movie, you never had that experience. But Jack [O'Connell] did," Jordan says. So he asked: "'Hey, yo, Jack, so when the blood...what are you doing when it's gushing and it's like right there?' So we're all sharing experiences about what you're gonna do when you get bit."

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Coogler says it became a "rite of passage" for the cast, but a pain in the neck of another kick for his crew.

"We got very prideful heads of departments, and we just covered everything in blood," he says, laughing about it now. "[Production designer] Hannah [Beachler]'s like, 'Oh my God, my set!' And [costume designer] Ruth [Carter]'s like, 'Oh my God, my costumes!' And then [cinematographer] Autumn [Durald Arkapaw]'s like, 'Jesus Christ, my camera!'"

Jordan remembers everyone behind the camera wrapping themselves in plastic, because "we don't know exactly which way the blood's going to go."

The mess — and figuring out how to film Jordan's duel roles — was worth it. The movie became the first big Oscar contender of the year when it opened in April, opening for $48 million and going on to earn nearly $368 million worldwide.

A couple weeks after it opened, the movie got a big boost when Tom Cruise posted a photo on Instagram from a movie theater, holding his ticket to the movie. He congratulated the two guys in the caption, as well as "the entire cast and crew," and added, "Must see in a cinema and stay through the end credits!"

So did Coogler and Jordan lose their mind seeing his post?**

"Bro, come on. Tom Cruise. I couldn't believe it," Coogler says, still astonished by it.

"That was great. I love that man," Jordan says. "He loves movies so much. I challenge myself to find somebody who has that passion. He's incredible, so when you get somebody like him that's really supporting the movie and loves the film...

"Putting his body on the line for the industry," Coogler interjects, referring to Cruise's commitment to doing his own stunts.

"Big time," Jordan says. "And really cares about the theater business and the movie business... I was in pre-production [in London on *The Thomas Crown Affair*] and had the chance to sit down with Tom and talk to him. I showed the trailer before it dropped and he lost his mind. He was like, 'Oh my God, this is going to be incredible.' He was excited about it."

***Check out more from EW's *The Awardist*, featuring exclusive interviews, analysis, and our podcast diving into all the highlights from the year's best in TV, movies, and more.***

Listen to Coogler and Jordan's full interview on *The Awardist*, below. Elsewhere, hear a bit of my chat with Miley Cyrus, who wrote the original song "Dream as One" for *Avatar: Fire and Ash* and get first reaction to the movie from EW Sr. Editor Joyce Eng and me; we also break down all of the latest awards action, from the Gothams and National Board of Review winners to the Spirit Award nominations.**

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