Ryan Coogler’s Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan in a dual role, with Coogler using some impressive techniques to film Jordan’s twin scenes. 2025 has an interesting list of horror movies, and one of its most exciting ones is Sinners. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, Sinners brings together drama, music, action, and horror, in a story that takes the genre of blues to tell part of the history of black people, with the extra addition of vampires and a touch of gangster movie.
Set in 1932, Sinners follows twins Smoke and Stack (Jordan), World War I veterans who return to their hometown after years working for the Chicago Outfit. The twins purchase a sawmill to turn it into a juke joint for the local black community. However, opening night takes a horrifying turn when a group of vampires asks to be let in, and they sneak into the bar and turn some of the patrons into vampires. Jordan’s dual role is one of Sinners’ biggest strengths, and, of course, it quickly raised questions about how his twin scenes were achieved so smoothly.
Sinners Used Old-School Techniques To Film Most Of Michael B. Jordan’s Twin Scenes
Sinners Went For A More Traditional Way Of Filming Its Twin Scenes
Sinners arrived at a time when technology has advanced enough to make filming twin scenes like those of Smoke and Stack a lot easier and smoother; however, Coogler and cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw opted for more traditional ways of shooting these specific scenes. While it would be expected for a movie like Sinners to rely on digital techniques to bring Smoke and Stack together, Arkapaw and Coogler limited the use of face replacement technology as much as possible.
Coogler wanted the story to be grounded in reality, and for that, it was important that they achieved as much as possible in camera.
Coogler and Arkapaw spoke to Variety about how they achieved scenes like the juke joint music sequence with the past and future musicians, the twin scenes, and more. Coogler wanted the story to be grounded in reality, and for that, it was important that they achieved as much as possible in camera. For the twin scenes, Arkapaw explained that they broke down the script to figure out which scenes could be sH๏τ through split scene technique, which could be done in camera, and which would utilize machine learning with the use of a halo rig.
Arkapaw pointed out that a lot of the pressure filming these scenes was on Jordan, as he had to repeat his scenes multiple times as both characters, and they had a limited timeframe, especially when shooting outdoors due to the light. Ultimately, all these techniques and attention to detail paid off beautifully, and Jordan’s twin scenes are seamless and work perfectly.
What Michael B. Jordan Has Said About Filming Sinners’ Twin Scenes
Michael B. Jordan Faced A Different Challenge In Sinners
As mentioned above, the pressure of filming the twin scenes relied on Jordan, and he opened up about the challenges of playing twins in an interview with Rotten Tomatoes. Jordan shared that it’s complicated to explain and even more difficult to execute, and sometimes he would be talking to a body double and sometimes to no one at all while shooting those scenes. Jordan also explained it was a challenge for the rest of the actors in the scene, as they had to come up with the best technique to achieve the desired result.
Jordan also mentioned the new technologies they had to use, such as halo cameras, facial recognition, a multi-camera rig, and more that left a small margin of error for him and the other actors. Jordan explained they had to be very careful not to step on another actor’s line or take the place of his twin brother, but once they got the rhythm, it became easier. Despite all the challenges and problems the crew and cast of Sinners faced, the final result makes it all worth it.
Sources: Variety, Rotten Tomatoes.
