It's 1932 in Clarksdale, Miss., and enterprising twin brothers Smoke and Stack, both played by Coogler's longtime muse Michael B. Jordan, have returned to town after some years away in Chicago. (Clarksdale is one of several places where early blues pioneers like Robert Johnson are said to have "sold their souls to the devil.

The star and the director of “Sinners” have risen in parallel since first working together over a decade ago. In a joint interview, they explain their connection.

He’s written and directed four films, all heart and all winners: Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He puts that streak on the line with Sinners, an original elevated horror film that takes his usual onscreen companion,