If you haven’t already heard, Street Fighter is back. I am not talking about the 2D fighting game because it has never left us. I am talking about a movie based on the video game. It has been a while since we had a Street Fighter movie, and make no mistake. This is not a sequel to any Street Fighter movies before.
Speaking of Street Fighter movies, the first live-action flick that got fans excited was Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raúl Juliá’s Street Fighter from 1994. Then there was the Japanese anime film, Street Fighter Alpha: The Movie in 1999, and another live-action film focused on Chun-Li, which was a disappointment, btw, called Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009).
Fast forward to 2026. The new film from Paramount Pictures is here to set things right again and bring glory to the original (which I thought was a great attempt). From the outset, the new movie looks more polished and has a coherent plot. The official words:
“Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!”
The movie is directed by Kitao Sakurai, and stars Noah Centineo as “Ken Masters”, Andrew Koji as “Ryu”, Callina Liang as “Chun-Li”, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoaʻi as “Akuma”, David Dastmalchian as “M. Bison”, Cody Rhodes as “Guile”, Andrew Schulz as “Dan Hibiki”, Eric André as “Don Sauvage”, Vidyut Jammwal as “Dhalsim”, Orville Peck as “Vega”, Olivier Richters as “Zangief”, Hirooki Goto as “E. Honda”, Rayna Vallandingham as “Juli”, Alexander Volkanovski as “Joe”, with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as “Balrog” and Jason Momoa as “Blanka”. Yes, it’s Jason again, showing versatility in acting.
Keep going for the official trailer.
Images: Paramount Pictures.
