Even though Sinners is an R-rated horror movie, Ryan Coogler reveals that it was partly inspired by a Disney Channel Original Movie. Coogler directed and wrote Sinners, which became a massive critical and commercial success. It has a 97% critical score and 96% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and earned $367 million worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing horror movies of all time.
While speaking during Sinners’ panel at Deadline’s Contenders Film, Coogler explained how the Irish vampire Remmick (Jack O’Connell) is inspired by th Disney Channel Original Movie The Luck of the Irish. The 2001 film helped him see significant parallels between Irish and Black culture, specifically when it came to music, and it went on to become “a touchpoint” when developing Sinners. Check out Coogler’s comments below:
That was our first introduction to some of the similarities in Irish folk music to, basically, our music. There was a small Irish community in The Bay, and we would talk about it. That movie was kind of a touchpoint for us to jump off of, crazy enough. We’ve been fascinated with that culture in my family.
When an audience member at the event shared that they had worked on The Luck of the Irish, Coogler replied, “God bless you,” and “There’s a lot of fans of you in Oakland, California, right now. We used to watch that movie like crazy.”
The Luck of the Irish’s story focuses on an Irish high school basketball player named Kyle (Ryan Merriman) who must get his family’s lucky gold coin back from an evil leprechaun named Seamus (Timothy Omundson). If Kyle fails, he and his family will be stuck as leprechauns cursed with bad luck. Along with blending sports and fantasy elements together, the movie incorporates aspects of Irish culture, including Irish music and dancing.
This became part of the inspiration for Remmick’s story in Sinners, as the vampire is a former Irish immigrant who brings his culture’s music and dancing into the film. During the panel, Coogler praised “the great Jack O’Connell” for his portrayal of Remmick, his “beautiful performance”, and how he “brought the memory of his father to the role, the same way that I brought the memory of my uncle. And it was a profound experience to see somebody take ownership of the film in the same way.”
Beyond the Disney Channel Original Movie, Coogler also spoke about how Dracula author Bram Stoker being Irish served as another inspiration for Sinners, along with the importance of Remmick being a “pre-colonial Irishman.”
The film was a great opportunity. It was also a big shoutout to Bram Stoker, who was Irish, and kind of gave us the first context around the concept of a vampire in popular culture. So, it just made a lot of sense to explore the character that way.
[Remmick] is not Satan, but we saw him as a pre-colonial Irishman who had this massive backstory that we would kind of hint at and peel back like an onion.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a more expected inspiration for Sinners given the novel’s vital role in the horror genre and the evolution of depicting vampires in storytelling. The Luck of the Irish, a Disney Channel Original Movie which holds a 53% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, is a far more surprising source of inspiration, but one that was equally important for developing Remmick’s character.
O’Connell has the potential to be nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Oscars after his strong performance in Coogler’s movie. The Luck of the Irish influencing the horror film could become an even more compelling behind-the-scenes fact if O’Connell becomes an Oscar nominee or winner for his Sinners performance.
Release Date
April 18, 2025
Runtime
138 minutes
Director
Ryan Coogler