Ryan Coogler found inspiration for Sinners in this animated movie

By Dan Girolamo Published April 15, 2025

Ryan Coogler is a true cinephile, so much so that he found inspiration for Sinners in one of the unlikeliest of sources: an animated movie.

While speaking with Get Rec’d with Straw Hat Goofy on YouTube, Coogler admitted that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish played an integral role in shaping the villain of Sinners.

“So I talk about influences on this movie right here, Sinners,” Coogler said. “That’s [Puss in Boots: The Last Wish] a massive one.”

While the titular cat gets most of the notoriety, Coogler focused on the film’s villain, the Wolf, who eventually reveals himself as Death. Coogler zeroed in on Death’s red eyes, which he applied to Sinners’ evil characters, including Jack O’Connell’s Remick.

“Think about the villain Death, think about his defining features [the eyes], think about his demeanor,” said Coogler of Death’s influence on Sinners.

Coogler also credited Louis Gonzales, a long-time animator for Pixar, for storyboarding these critical elements of Sinners.

Sinners is the fifth film to be written and directed by Coogler. Michael B. Jordan stars as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown for a fresh start in the southern United States during the 1930s. However, their homecoming is derailed when they discover an “even greater evil” waiting for them in the town.

Sinners also stars Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller, Li Jun Li, and Delroy Lindo.

Sinners has been described as a supernatural horror with vampiric and musical elements. Made on a budget of $100 million, Sinners is expected to make between $30 million and $40 million domestically during its opening weekend (via Box Office Theory).

Warner Bros. will release Sinners in theaters on April 18.