IF THERE is anything that Sinners director Ryan Coogler has learned from his 2018 blockbuster superhero drama Black Panther and its late star Chadwick Boseman, it is to stay more present in the moment. Coogler’s Sinners recently became the most nominated film in the Oscars history by earning 16 nods for the 2026 edition. The record was earlier shared by All About Eve (1950), Titanic (1997) and La La Land (2016) as they all had 14 nominations each. In an interview, Coogler spoke about the lessons he learned from Boseman, the Black Panther star who passed away in 2020 after a secret four-year battle with cancer. He was 43. “Engaging with him on an artistic level, conversations that will forever just be between me and him - I was about 30 years old, stressed, completely out of my mind, sleep-deprived, convinced that the movie wasn’t going to work,” Coogler said. “I robbed myself of truly enjoying that privilege - even of sitting there and enjoying the countless Chadwick Boseman takes, because he didn’t have a bad take.

 

So when he passed, I’m like,‘Oh my God, how much stuff have I not allowed myself to enjoy because I was in my own head - feeling like I was unworthy?’ “I’m going to take the lessons from Chad for the rest of my life, bro. That includes all of this. I have to see the good in things, see the value in things, and not let impostor syndrome or guilt or negativity rob me of moments with my cast who I love - or with folks who want to say, ‘Hey, good job.’” Coogler was in his mid-20s when he impressed Hollywood with his directorial debut Fruitvale Station, which revolved around the real-life events leading up to the 2009 death of 22-year-old Oscar Grant in police firing. His second project was Creed, a spin-off to Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky franchise.

 

Black Panther, which amassed USD 1.35 billion worldwide, was praised for the way it honoured the black culture and history through the story of a king who rules a technologically advanced African country, hidden from the world. Coogler was deep into the making the sequel when the pandemic hit and they all learned about Boseman’s death.The filmmaker had to rewrite the story in a way that honoured Boseman’s legacy but continued the story without him.