There is actually a very subtle nod to Chadwick Boseman hidden in " Sinners . "

There are obviously MASSIVE despoiler before forSinners !

1.First, Smoke and Stack’s red and blue color palettes inSinnersaresignificant. Blue represented a connection to the spiritual world, which is why Smoke and Annie are wearing shades of blue in the film. It’s also often associated with calmness, serenity, wisdom, and sadness. The sadness aspect would connect to Smoke and Annie mourning the loss of their child, too.

2.Meanwhile, red represented a connection to blood, life, and being shrouded in darkness, which is also seen with how Stack’sfilmedusing a lot of shadows by the director of photography, Autumn Durald Arkapaw. It’s also associated with power, danger, passion, and sexuality, with that connection to Stack and his relationship with Mary.

3.While Smoke and Stack dress similarly in the beginning ofSinners, their suits seemingly pay homage to the typical looks of the Italian and Irish mobs, with Stack dressed like an Italian mobster, while Smoke is dressed like the Irish. In the film, Mary points out that they ripped off both the Italians and the Irish in Chicago before coming back to the Mississippi Delta.

4.Smoke and Stack are also meant torepresentthe Maya Hero Twins, who arecentral figuresin the Popol Vuh, which recounts the mythology and history of the K’iche' people, and relates to Mayan and Central American culture. It’s said that the twins,Hunahpu and Xbalanque, embark on several journeys that ultimately lead them to the underworld.

5.Also, the Hero Twins are known for outsmarting the Lords of Death, which leads to them becoming celestial bodies, aka the sun and the moon. Resurrection and the relationship between life and death arecentral themesin the twins' stories, much like with Smoke and Stack inSinners.

6.The significance of Remmick being Irish connects back to Irish and Black Americans during the 19th century, where both groups werepushed into conflictwith each other. They were often in competition with each other for housing, jobs, etc., and faced oppression as second-class citizens at the time. However, the Irish used their whiteness to their advantage, much like Remmick does in the film.

7.In the rafters of Jedidiah’s church, there are three crosses on the wall behind the altar, which are meant to represent the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,accordingto production designer Hannah Beachler. When Sammie and his dad are standing under the crosses, they are meant to represent the fourth cross.

8.Also, the beams the crosses hold are “exactly 33 inches apart,“accordingto Beachler, because that is the age Jesus died and the number represents the end.

9.And, the crossed beams at the very top areactually a subtle nodto Chadwick Boseman, who, of course, starred in Ryan Coogler’sBlack Pantherfilms and was a good friend of his. The beams are crossed so they symbolize the Wakanda Forever gesture that Chadwick’s T’Challa did through the Marvel films.

Threee crown of thorns , Sammy & his Father are The Father , The Son&The Holy Spirit . The rocky sawn beams the crosses hold in are incisively 33 inch apart , the age Jesus died , & the number that represents the endThe traverse beams above are for Chadwick , making the Wakanda Forever gesturepic.twitter.com/a9J3afdfr4

10.Throughout the film, you’ll notice that Smoke’s hands shake, which is why he has trouble rolling a cigarette for himself toward the end. Up until this point, Stack would hand him cigarettes he rolled, and after he died, Smoke wasn’t able to do it on his own. This is why, after Stack’s death, the next time we see Smoke smoking is when he takes a cigarette from Bert after he shoots him.

11.When Sammie returns to the church in the car, you’ll notice there is a white horse pulling a cart nearby. The color of the horse isintentionaland related to the four horsemen.According to scholars, the first horseman rides a white horse, with some interpreting it to symbolize Christ or the Antichrist.

12.In their first scene together, Mary tells Stack to go to hell, and he tells her he’ll save her a room. This foreshadows their ending, where Mary ultimately dies first and saves him a place next to her instead.

13.Bo and Grace’s characters, and the fact that they run a grocery store, is a nod to real history and how Chinese immigrants came to the US and settled in the Mississippi Delta. At the time, the stores owned by Chinese immigrants served the Black community, when the white community would not. According toThe Untold Story of America’s Southern Chinese, more than 70% of the Mississippi Delta population in 1940 got their groceries and everyday goods from a small Chinese community made up of only around 743 people.

14.When Smoke goes into town to get Grace and Bo’s help, you’ll notice one of the restaurants on the main road is King Tamales. Tamales arethoughtto have come to the Mississippi Delta in the early 20th century, when laborers from Mexico arrived to work alongside Black Americans.

SinnersMovieTamales came to the Mississippi Delta early 1900s via Mexican migratory worker . The Migrant workers shared their recipe w/ Black Sharecroppers , and Tamales became a dear staple in the Delta to this Day . Sollys Hot Tamales in Vicksburg is the most noted I ’m told.pic.twitter.com/AnEy0Ayf8D

15.Also in town, Black Bird Cafe was named after “Black Bird” by the Beatles. Production designer Hannah Beachlertweeted, “On March 26th, 1998 when I was giving birth to my son I played Black Bird by the Beatles in the hospital room, ‘Take these broken wings and learn to fly.’ Those words feel like my life.”

SinnersMovieDowntown on the Black Side of town I named the Cafe " Black Bird Cafe . " On March 26th , 1998 when I was giving birth to my boy I played Black Bird by the Beatles in the infirmary room , " Take these humbled wings and learn to fly . " Those words palpate like my life.pic.twitter.com/534UWESOSm

16.Inside the juke joint, production designer Hannah Beachler and her teampainted lineson the back of the rust wall where the entrance is. The lines actually represent the equalizer where the bars stop on the chorus if you were playing “Smokestack Lightning” by Howlin' Wolf on a cassette player.

17.“Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go,” aka “Wild Mountain Thyme,” which is sung by Remmick, is a traditional Irish and Scottish folk song. The song istraditionallyused to express deep affection and desire for a simple life rooted in love and the beauty of nature. It’s also sometimes associated with a person’s journey beyond the earthly realm.

18.“Rocky Road to Dublin” is another traditional Irish folksong that is sung by Remmick inSinners. The songtells the storyof a young man’s journey trying to find a new life. Notably, the song describes the trouble the man finds as he gets further from home, and people are unwilling to help him because of where he’s from.

19.At the end ofSinners, Annie notably calls Smoke his real name, Elijah, and asks him to come join her and their child. He puts out his cigarette — getting rid of the smoke — and fully gives himself over to being Elijah, turning his back on his violent persona. Meanwhile, Stack does the opposite. In the mid-credits scene, he still wears a ring that says “Stack,” meaning, unlike Smoke, he continues to lean into his violent persona.

20.Buddy Guy, who stars as older Sammie, is a well-known blues guitarist and singer, and his upbringing is similar to Sammie’s inSinners. Raised in Louisiana, he was the son of sharecroppers, and hepicked cottonas a child while living in the Delta. Eventually, he taught himself to play guitar, recalling to the New Yorker in 2019, “I’d go sit on top of the levees and bang away with my guitar, and you could really hear it … That’s just how country sound is. A little wind would carry it even better.” Now, he owns a blues club in Chicago.

21.And finally, during the mid-credits, Sammie plays in his jazz club 60 years later, and on the wall behind the bar, you can see that he named the bar “Pearline’s.” Of course, it’s named after Pearline, who is played by Jayme Lawson.

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