Ryan Coogler’s Sinners is an original movie that took the box office by storm, but not every part of it was wholly original. Starring Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, the movie follows them as they come face-to-face with vampires in Mississippi in 1932.
The movie earned a stunning $365 million against a budget of around $95 million, proving that original movies can still succeed in the post-pandemic landscape with careful budget management. It is also poised to perform well at next year’s Oscars, given that it has secured an astounding 97% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside its 96% Popcornmeter score.
In an interview with ScreenCrush, Sinners and Ironheart producer Sev Ohanian detailed Sinners‘ development. While it was renowned for its costuming, Ohanian explained that the costumes were not originally developed for the movie. Instead, costume designer Ruth Carter created them for the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s long-delayed Blade movie. Check out his quote below:
Ruth Carter was working on the Blade movie – which I think they’re still going to make, I’m not sure of the schedules of that… At one point, that film was going to deal with the past, around the same era as Sinners. She happened to have a warehouse full of period-appropriate clothes, and it was like ‘yo, we gotta shoot this movie tomorrow.’ And Marvel was generous and kind enough to let us purchase it at price, and a lot of the background actors in our movie are wearing those clothes, so special shoutout to Marvel for making that happen.
What This Means For Sinners & Blade
Blade Was Rumored To Be In The 1920s
Sinners certainly benefited from Blade‘s constant confusion and delays, as its costuming was one of the highlights of the movie. Every design was both period-accurate and stunning, as it perfectly fit the gritty and realistic environment that Coogler was crafting. Every suit is also entirely unique, helping to display each character’s personality with relative ease.
Unfortunately, while Sinners was able to ride its costumes to success, Blade remains in development hell, as there have been few updates about its production. It was first announced at Comic-Con 2019 with Mahershala Ali set to play the Daywalker. It was originally set to film in 2022, but it has instead been continuously delayed, due to constant crew shake-ups.
Sinners was developed, put into production, and released in the time that Marvel has taken to simply sit on the Blade franchise.
Bᴀssam Tariq (Mogul Mowgli) was the first official director, but he eventually exited the project and was replaced by Yann Demange (Lovecraft County). Demange also left Blade in 2024, leaving the MCU project in complete limbo. While Blade was once slated to premiere in 2025, Sinners borrowed its costumes and crafted a story of its own, while Blade remains undeveloped.
Currently, little is known about Blade due to the constant revisions and changes. However, at one point, there were rumors that the MCU movie would take place in the 1920s. This new information about loaning out the costume further corroborates its vision had it gone into production. Now, it’s unclear if the installment will continue in that direction or pivot to a different setting.
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Blade‘s 2019 announcement means that the costumes were likely made sometime after that year, as they would likely come after the scripting process was already underway. Sinners was developed, put into production, and released in the time that Marvel has taken to simply sit in the Blade series.
The MCU simply needs to finish Blade, as it is already at risk of losing its momentum. After facing constant box office turmoil in the 2020s, it needs a hit that can distract from disappointing reviews and diminishing box office returns. If an original movie like Sinners could take the world by storm, then the MCU could easily see success with a similar story.
Instead, the decision to delay Blade indefinitely, while also completely reinventing its setting, appears to have been beneficial to only the Sinners creators. That is certainly good news for audiences who adored Coogler’s latest movie, but it is not exactly what Marvel was looking for when it tapped Ruth Carter to create those costumes.
Source: ScreenCrush
