“In this day and age I think you need multiple reasons to lean in when there’s so many great things available,” he said of his decision to go with twins.

Ryan Coogler put twins in Sinners despite his ‘crippling fear of doppelgängers’: ‘It’s a little creepy’

"In this day and age I think you need multiple reasons to lean in when there's so many great things available," he said of his decision to go with twins.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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January 15, 2026 10:00 p.m. ET

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Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers in 'Sinners'. Credit:

Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

No offense to twins everywhere, but Ryan Coogler is scared to see double.

Yet, despite his fear of doppelgängers, the acclaimed director still chose to center his latest box office hit, *Sinners*, around twin brothers played by Michael B. Jordan.

Coogler made the comical revelation during a recent appearance on the *Good Hang With Amy Poehler* podcast, when Poehler asked him why he chose to make Jordan's characters twins, given the difficulties such a decision inherently adds to any film shoot.

"For sure," Coogler agreed. "I mean, look, it was a hook for me. It was so sticky, right? In this day and age I think you need multiple reasons to lean in when there's so many great things available."

He continued, "There are so many ways to spend time. So for me, I think that I'm a firm believer in things having multiple hooks, you know what I mean? And it's a hook for me because I have twins in my family, and I love them, and I got a lot of homies as twins, but I also have a crippling fear of doppelgängers, like a straight phobia. You know what I mean?"

Director Ryan Coogler on set of 'Sinners' with Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton.

Eli Adé/Warner Bros.

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When Poehler laughed and said that she didn't, in fact, know what he meant, she asked if his phobia stems from a fear of meeting his own doppelgänger. "Yeah, I've had nightmares like that," Coogler replied, to which Poehler offered that "the idea of twins in general is a little creepy" as is the idea of "someone who was in the womb with you."

"Yeah, that's fascinating to me," Coogler agreed. "And we dug deep with Mike [Jordan]. Like I got two buddies who are filmmakers, Noah and Logan Miller... I actually asked them if they would be open to being consultants on the movie, like to work with me and Mike on developing the characters."

Coogler continued, "And we dug so deep into the mindset and the dynamics of what it's like to have essentially a copy of yourself next to you all the time, you know. But Mike, he just knocked me back by his brilliance and how he portrayed these characters."

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In *Sinners*, which Coogler directed and wrote, Jordan plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown to start fresh, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them.

The film, and Jordan's dual performance, are major players in this year's awards race. It was up for seven awards at the Golden Globes, where it won two, and the film had a leading 17 nominations at the 31st Critics Choice Awards, where it won four.**

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