Sinners' alternate ending and post credit scene finally revealed

Twins Stack and Smoke (Michael B. Jordan) are a couple of veterans, but they too succumb to the evil forces as Sinners ends. But the main hero is Sammie (Miles Caton), the guitar-playing, song-singing, magic-bringing cousin of the twins. But his music brings some vampires with it when played, and blood flows like water.

But there is a twist in the film's ending and the post-credits scene that Caton discussed during his recent interview with GQ Magazine. Ryan Coogler, who directs the film, originally imagined them differently. We can't really say how the fans would have received them; they were decent.

As of this writing, the film that opened with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score and scored an A with CinemaScore audiences has matched the earnings with its production budget, raking in $93 million. However, there is still a long way to go if the film wants to break that mold to come out as a commercial monster.

How was this ending different in Sinners from the original?

Michael B. Jordan plays twins Stack and Smoke. (Image via YouTubeWarner Bros.)

In the film's version of the ending, Sammie is sent back to the church by his cousin, Smoke, before the showdown happens. He returns to his father's church, and we see his father making a failed attempt to convince the lad to renounce his music. But here's what Caton told GQ Magazine:

"There were a couple different scenes that we shot for that moment. Him going back to the church, and him holding the guitar and holding onto it, it's like, "Do I give this up, or is there an alternative?" I think that was the decision there. Also, that we're all sinners. We're all trying to make better choices, better decisions every day, and so that's something that we see throughout the film that I think is beautifully written."

As we can see, the essence of Sinners' ending is for Sammie to decide whether he wants to continue with his music or not. Whatever the case, it likely hadn't affected the scene where Stack and Mary, both of whom have become vampires, visit an older Sammie.

Had he given up on his music, Mary and Stack's appearance might not have even made sense. Though they aren't really lured by his music, he has become a famous musician by this time. Maybe his musical stardom brought them, or why would they have gotten all of Sammie's records, right? But then they appeared to have become evil as they offered Sammie 'immortality.' Thanks to Smoke, who told Stack not to hurt Sammie. He kept his word.

Sinners' post-credits scene is supposed to have Sammie's father in it

It's the music that lures vampires in the film. (Image via YouTubeWarner Bros.)

After the film has ended, including the credits, we see a young Sammie playing This Little Light of Mine. He is alone, like most artists are, enjoying his craft. It's a powerful scene that can send chills down the spine, as that young singer has no idea what horrible things are about to unfold.

For this final Sinners scene, Caton says:

"That was something that we shot earlier in filming, and it was originally Sammie looking to his father after playing in the church. We were thinking of what could we do to kind of do our rendition of "This Little Light of Mine," so me and [composer Ludwig Göransson] had been working together to come up with our sound, and how it would be on a resonator guitar, and that's what we came up with."

It's good that Coogler added that at the end, as it may have otherwise lost the power to evoke the terror the audience just witnessed.