Sinners may be paying tribute to this underrated Nolan film and it’s a deep cut

Sinners is a film that has received a surprise success at the box office. The Ryan Coogler-directed horror film is not associated with any IP and has managed to get good reviews along with box-office results. Here's the official synopsis:

"Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back."

Michael B. Jordan, Coogler's longtime collaborator, stars as twin brothers in the film. Since its release, there has been a theory floating on the internet where people claim the film pays a tribute to Christopher Nolan.

Sinners pays a hat tip to Christopher Nolan

Celebrities Visit Capitol Hill In Washington, DC (Image Source: Getty)

Sinners features Michael B. Jordan portraying the twin brothers Elijah Moore (Smoke) and Elias Moore (Stack). Together, they are collectively known as Smoke Stack, and they return to their hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, in the 1930s. In one scene of the film, there is a visual hint that the two criminal brothers might have escaped a robbery attempt by copying the story of Christopher Nolan's period drama, The Prestige.

In the 2006 film, Christian Bale portrays twin brothers who swap places and show it as a magic trick. In Coogler's film, Stack is standing near the car, and slowly the viewers realize that there are twins, hinting that this is how they might have robbed the Italians.

Interestingly, Nolan has been given a special thanks in the film. This was done as Coogler had reportedly consulted the Oscar-winning director on the use of the IMAX cameras. While the maker has not spoken about the connection, it is quite evident.

More about Sinners

Sinners is written and directed by Ryan Coogler, who has also co-produced it with Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian. Warner Bros. Pictures released it on April 18, 2025. The cast members of the film include:

Michael B. Jordan as Smoke and Stack (twins)
Hailee Steinfeld as Mary
Miles Caton as Sammie Moore aka Preacher Boy
Jack O'Connell as Remmick
Buddy Guy as older Sammie Moore
Wunmi Mosaku as Annie
Jayme Lawson as Pearline
Omar Miller as Cornbread
Peter Dreimanis as Bert
Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim
Li Jun Li as Grace Chow
Yao as Bo Chow
Lola Kirke as Joan

Coogler gave an interview to NPR where he spoke about mixing historical drama with action. He said:

"This movie was, like, all about dichotomy, you know, and that's something that I've been dealing with my whole life. You know, this feeling of not totally fitting in or things not totally squaring with each other. You know, like, coming up, I was Black. I was from Oakland."

He continued:

"I was middle-class, and I was in these neighborhoods where my parents were kind of outliers. They got married young, and they went to college, but they stayed in their neighborhood, you know? So I constantly, as a kid, would feel like I was, like, living in two different worlds. There's a dichotomy there. And I took the student (ph) serious. I was, like, a big old giant nerd, but I was also, like, a very, very serious athlete, you know?"

Sinners was released on April 18 at the theatres.