At first glance, the post-credits scene in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners feels simple—almost quiet. But behind that moment lies a deeply personal truth that shaped the entire story. During our exclusive interview with Coogler, we asked the director about the significance of that closing scene, and what he revealed turned out to be the emotional core of the film.
(The following contains spoilers for the end of Sinners)
From the beginning, Coogler knew the movie had to end with that moment.
“That scene was always in the movie—was always in the script,” he told us. “I wrote this movie for my uncle, my uncle James, who passed away in 2015.”
It was a year filled with milestones and influences for Coogler. While dealing with the grief of losing his uncle, he was also reading Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot, a story that would become a key inspiration for Sinners.
“People often say From Dusk Till Dawn, and I love that movie too—love Robert,” he said. “But with Salem’s Lot, Stephen King basically sent Dracula to a small town. And I wanted that vibe.”
But Coogler wasn’t just chasing a horror aesthetic. For him, it was about grounding the genre in something real—something personal.
A film inspired by family, music, and memory
“My uncle’s favorite living artist for a long time was Buddy Guy,” Coogler shared. “Towards the end of his life, that was the only person he would leave the house to go see live.”
Spending time with his uncle, Coogler recalled moments that quietly shaped the emotional weight of the film.
“He would drink all types of whiskey, play blues records on vinyl. I wasn’t paying attention to who we were listening to—I was just spending time with him,” he said. “Every once in a while, if he had enough to drink, he’d tell me a story about back when he was in Mississippi. They were always like this movie—crazy, sexy, violent. I had to piece together that he fled the state after getting into it with his white boss’s son.”
Coogler admitted that guilt played a role in the film’s emotional undercurrent. His uncle passed away while he was finishing Creed, and he hadn’t spent as much time with him in his final year.
“I felt real guilty about that,” he said. “I thought a lot about the sacrifice you make in pursuit of your dream. I had to sacrifice a lot of time with my loved ones.”
A Startling Realization
As Coogler explained, it all came together on set in a moment of unexpected clarity. The scene featured Michael B. Jordan’s character giving Buddy Guy’s character a hug—and something about it hit Coogler hard.
“I get a mental block while blocking the scene, which happens to me sometimes,” he recalled. “Mike goes in for the neck—he had the fangs in and all—and I kind of freaked out like, ‘Nah, don’t bite him!’ But then I realized, oh… he’s hugging him.”
Then came a moment that stopped Coogler in his tracks.
“Buddy came out of his back, looked at me and said, ‘How about that?’ And bro, seeing a young dude hug him… I broke down in tears right there.”
It was then that Coogler fully understood the meaning of the film.
“I realized I dressed Buddy up like my uncle. And seeing that hug—it put the whole script in perspective. The whole script was about that moment.”
He paused for a beat.
“To answer your question, yeah, the movie was always about that scene. Sometimes the unconscious guides the conscious. And it was right there.”
There’s no question that Sinners is deeply personal to Coogler. Now with this explanation of the post-credit scene, viewers can have a new appreciation for the emotional meaning behind it.
Director: Ryan Coogler
Writer(s): Ryan Coogler
Stars: Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Benson Miller and Delroy Lindo
Sinners comes to theaters April 18th, 2025. Be sure to follow E-Man’s Movie Reviews on Facebook, Subscribe on YouTube, or follow me on Twitter/IG @EmansReviews for even more movie news and reviews!
