When I was a young man, just about to leave the bosom of the family to venture off to university, my grandfather gave me some money that he had been scrimping and saving to help launch me off into adulthood. So, of course, on arrival in my new city, I went straight to the nearest video game store and blew a chunk of it on an SNES – Street Fighter II edition.
The epic, beer-fuelled vs. battles and dorm room championships became a foundational memory of university. I can still remember the characters, their back stories, and their special movies. Certainly more than I can remember any of that Economics gibberish I studied.
It is hard to underestimate the level of pop culture impact that this video game had at the time. Like an inverse Avatar, it was simply everywhere.
Various movie adaptations were tried over the years. Only one came to pass. Now, after a few more aborted attempts, a new Street Fighter movie is currently in production in Australia.
Much of the cast was already known, but the final few characters were announced, along with a poster inspired by the classic game’s character selection menu.
The final few cast members to be announced are Dutch bodybuilding giant Olivier Richters as Russian professional wrestler Zangief, Mel Jarnson as British spy Cammy, UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski as kickboxing champion Joe, and Rayna Vallandingham as assassin Juli.
They join already confirmed Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Orville Peck as Vega, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, and Jason Momoa as Blanka.
Joining them are Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Roman Reigns as Akuma, Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, and Eric Andre as Don Sauvage.
The synopsis has also been released:
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!
Street Fighter is a co-production with Legendary Entertainment and Capcom, with the movie switching from Sony to Paramount under the terms of the Legendary deal with the newly merged studio.
Street Fighter is set for release on October 16th, 2026.
