Sinners writer and director Ryan Coogler stopped by Straw Hat Goofy's movie podcast Get Rec'd to discuss his acclaimed vampire period horror movie, revealing a surprising inspiration. A self-proclaimed fan of animated films and television, Coogler revealed that his Sinners villain was influenced by Death from Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
Given that Puss in Boots is a Shrek spinoff franchise following the titular cat realizing he has burned through eight of his nine lives, you wouldn't expect it to inspire a vampire flick, but Coogler enjoyed the movie's depiction of Death.
While chatting with the popular TikToker, Coogler specifically cites Death's "eyes" and "demeanor" as points of reference for Sinners, likely for the character Remmick, played by Jack O'Connell.
He's not the only one to enjoy The Last Wish's take on Death. The movie itself was heavily praised by critics, with Death, who was voiced by Wagner Moura, pointed out as one of the best and most interesting depictions in film history.
Coogler also gives a shoutout to storyboard artist Louis Gonzales, who previously worked at Pixar and collaborated with Coogler on Black Panther. Gonzales also did storyboard work on The Iron Giant and other popular animated films like Brave, Coco, and Incredibles 2.
In addition to being critically acclaimed, the DreamWorks Animation film received several award nominations, including a nom for Best Animated Feature at the 95th Academy Awards. It also ended up grossing over $485.3 million at the box office, becoming one of the best-performing films of 2022.
Sinners is currently sitting at a perfect 100% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes and is expected to perform well at the box office. The film follows twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) battling evil vampires after returning to their hometown and finding the place has significantly changed. Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jayme Lawson, Omar Miller, Li Jun Li, and Delroy Lindo also star.
Sinners will be released in theaters on Friday, April 18.