A test-screening for Black Panther director Ryan Cooger's Depression-era "vampire" movie, Sinners, reportedly took place on Tuesday, and World of Reel had shared a report on the consensus from those in attendance.
Though major plot details are not divugled, there will be some spoilers from this point on.
First off, the reponse to the movie seems to be somewhat tepid. While Michael B. Jordan's performance in a dual role came in for a lot of praise, the majority of people who got to see the film felt that it was "fine" or "decent."
Here are some excerpts from WOR's report:
"The trades reporting that Michael B. Jordan plays twin vampire is FALSE. The actual plot has to do with twin brothers, Elijah and Elias (Jordan), who try to leave their troubles lives behind and head south, after spending years in Capone-inflicted Chicago. They return to their hometown, where slavery was recently abolished, but the KKK still looms large."
"As far as KKK elements go, the vampires, who only appear in spurts throughout the film, might have a connection to the Klan. The ending is also going to 'lead to a lot of controversy.'”
Back when we first heard about this project, it was said to be so top secret that "executives and buyers were forced to make the pilgrimage to the Beverly Hills offices of WME, the agency that represents Coogler and Jordan, in order to take a gander at the script," but some details have since leaked.
The film was initially described as a "genre feature," with a "period element to the story," and we'd later learn that it was actually going to be set in Jim Crow-era South and possibly involve both vampires and Southern supernatural traditions.
Coogler also penned the script and is on board as lead producer along with Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian.
Coogler's last feature was Marvel Studios Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which saw Jordan reprise his role as Erik Killmonger for an afterlife cameo. Last we heard, the filmmaker was working on a third Black Panther instalment, but there's been no official word on his progress. Coogler is also said to be involved in at least one planned small-screen BP spin-off, and was recently rumored as a possible contender to helm Avengers: Secret Wars.
The filmmaker is also taking charge of an X-Files reboot for the Disney-owned 20th Century Studios, so he's going to be very busy over the next couple of years.