Heartburn feels good in a place like this.
Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos: Getty Images
Ryan Coogler has proven himself time and again to be a true auteur on the big screen with critically acclaimed blockbusters like Creed, Black Panther, and last year’s Sinners. But the director recently revealed that he has been artistically experimenting on the small screen — one type of really, really small touchscreen, specifically.
During a particularly fizzy recent interview on Good Hang With Amy Poehler, Coogler spilled, “I’m not a big soda person, but when they started to let you mix and match the drinks, I got involved with that.” Leave it to a visionary filmmaker to understand the artistic implications, freedom of expression, and revolutionary status of messing around with the various soft drinks and flavored syrups on a Coca-Cola Freestyle machine. Mixing Sprite Zero, Barq’s French Vanilla, and Diet Powerade? Involved. Every available flavor of Fanta, plus Hi-C, on top of iced tea? This necessitates involvement. It is a turn of phrase that has Film Twitter bubbling over with delight.
this is so fucking funny https://t.co/YUmSXkMfEp pic.twitter.com/zEzBLkJaVm
— kpg (@notoriouskpg) January 27, 2026
Amazing Ryan Coogler quote where he said he didn’t like soda but “when they started to let you mix and match the drinks… I got involved with that”
— brewster (@brewsternova) January 27, 2026
“I got involved with that” in every conversation I have from now on https://t.co/55PK77w8pE pic.twitter.com/kiB5P3vSsY
— DOVADARKO (@DeadbyDarko) January 28, 2026
Ryan Coogler got involved at this very moment. pic.twitter.com/d6Pjew8LCf
— Kevín (@KevOnStage) January 28, 2026
Lately, AMC Theaters (notable home of Coca-Cola Freestyle machines) patrons have expressed their dismay that the iconic Nicole Kidman pre-roll has been shortened to a tiny husk of its former self in order to make space for an extended Coca-Cola promotional montage. Coogler’s involvement with the Freestyle genre poses a possible solution: He could cola-borate with Kidman on a sequel to the “We come to this place for magic” spot featuring these soda dispensers front and center. With the Oscars approaching and Sinners nominated in a record-breaking 16 categories, it could even be part of Coogler’s For Your Carbonation campaign. I just ask that he drops his preferred Freestyle recipe so we can all sip on that Coog-juice.
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