The upcoming 1930s-set vampire movie Sinners starring Michael B. Jordan features the multi-talented Hailee Steinfeld as a key player in the narrative, and her role is one that fans have waited for since her 2018 movie Bumblebee. The second trailer from period action horror movie written and directed by Ryan Coogler (Black Panther, Creed) provided some more insight into the movie’s overarching plot, along with a full reveal of the movie’s bloodthirsty vampires. Steinfeld is prominently featured in the second trailer, reinforcing how significant her role will be.

The 28-year-old actress famously broke out in 2011 in the western True Grit, earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance at age 14. Since then, she has remained a major star across TV, music, and cinema; she features prominently in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony Marvel universe, in addition to other notable movie roles in cinematic dramas. As busy as she’s been, her role in Sinners actually marks a movie first for Steinfeld since 2018, and it’s exciting considering it’s one of the most anticipated movies of 2025.

Sinners Is Hailee Steinfeld’s First Leading Role In A Live-Action Movie Since Bumblebee

Steinfeld Has Been Wrapped Up In TV And Marvel Projects

After her breakout role in 2011, Hailee Steinfeld earned major roles in a number of movies across several genres, most notably comedy and drama. Steinfeld earned a number of awards for her performance in the 2016 comedy drama The Edge of Seventeen, and gained widespread fame for her role as Emily Junk in the musical comedy Pitch Perfect franchise. However, Sinners will represent the first live action starring role for Steinfeld since she led 2018’s Bumblebee, a spin-off entry in the Transformers franchise.

Since Bumblebee, Steinfeld has mostly been involved in television and voice work. Her award-winning turn as Emily Dickinson in the Apple TV+ comedy drama series Dickinson paved the road to her starring role as Kate Bishop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe TV series Hawkeye, a role she reprised in the animated MCU series What If…? Steinfeld also voices Gwen Stacy in Sony’s animated, award-winning Spider-verse franchise, for which she also received award nominations. Because of that busy schedule, Sinners will wind up as Steinfeld’s return as a starring movie actress.

Hailee Steinfeld Plays A Vampire In Sinners – What Else We Know About Her Character

Her Character Named Mary Ends Up A Vampire

The second trailer for Sinners revealed much more about the general plot and characters involved in the narrative, in particular Hailee Steinfeld’s seemingly seductive character, Mary. In the trailer, she is seen engaged with Michael B. Jordan in a provocative dance, and appears to spend at least part of the movie as a regular person with romantic interest in one of the twins that Michael B. Jordan is playing. However, the latest trailer revealed that she doesn’t stay that way for long, as she’s later depicted with a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, dark eyes, and a blood-soaked smile.

It remains to be seen if Mary’s intentions are in fact pure from the get-go, but they certainly won’t end up that way. The trailer stays on her as she says, “We gon’ kill every last one o’ya,” in a thick Southern accent covered in blood, so it seems clear she is an antagonist to at least one of Michael B. Jordan’s twin characters. In fact, given her significant placement in Sinners‘ cast of characters, she could wind up the movie’s main villain, if such a role exists in the narrative.