Sinners almost had Machine Gun Kelly? Musician explains why he declined to audition

A still from Sinners | Image via Warner Bros. Pictures YouTube
A still from Sinners | Image via Warner Bros. Pictures YouTube

Sinners is a period horror film that was released on April 18, 2025, by Warner Bros. Pictures. Ryan Coogler wrote and directed the film; he also co-produced it with Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. The film met with positive reviews and grossed $365.9 million at the box office. Here is the official synopsis as per Letterboxd,

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Machine Gun Kelly revealed that he also became a part of the film. Let's find out what he said.


Machine Gun Kelly almost starred in Sinners. Here's how

Machine Gun Kelly recently appeared on The Pat McAfee Show, where he revealed that he declined to do Sinners. The singer revealed that he passed on the project as he was supposed to say the N-word in the audition.

“Like Sinners, I was supposed to be in that. The vampire, they had me set up to do the audition — it’s the one that’s in the house, so he’s the second vampire, the one that the guy comes and eats the family. In the audition, he has to say the ‘n-word’ and I wouldn’t do it.”

Kelly might be referring to Bert, who is a character eventually portrayed by Peter Dreimanis. Along with his wife, Joan, he welcomes Remmick, who then bites and converts the two into vampires. This spirals into the crux of the plot.


More about Sinners

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Sinners has Michael B. Jordan playing twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return to their hometown in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. They plan to start a juke joint, but soon, they are encountered by vampires. The film blends several genres like period, horror, musical, and gothic drama into one story. It marked the fifth collaboration between Coogler and Jordan after Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, and its sequel.

Its world premiere took place at New York's AMC Lincoln Square on April 3, 2025, followed by a theatrical release on April 18. The film emerged as a critical and commercial success, and since then, buzz around its sequel has been doing the rounds.

However, Coogler has confirmed that he has no plans to work on a second installment of the film. In a Variety interview, he explained:

“I wanted the movie to feel like a full meal: your appetizers, starters, entrees and desserts, I wanted all of it there. I wanted it to be a holistic and finished thing. That was how I was asked all about it. That was always my intention.”

He also said that he was making franchise films for a while and wanted to do a stand-alone work with Sinners.

Meanwhile, Machine Gun Kelly has worked as an actor in several films apart from his musical career. Some of his acting credits include Beyond the Lights, Midnight in the Switchgrass, and The King of Staten Island, among others.


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Edited by Tanisha Aggarwal