One of my favourite video games growing up was Street Fighter 2, so much so that I once told my mum that I wanted to be a street fighter when I grew up (I didn’t realise what an actual street fighter was, I just assumed you travelled the world practising martial arts).
I was such a sucker for the story of each fighter that I tried to complete the game with every fighter, but Ryu was always my favourite. One of my other favourites was the character Thunder Hawk (also known as T.Hawk), as I was really into pro wrestling at the time.
In the 1990s, when I found out that a live-action Street Fighter movie was being made, I was thrilled to see it. I didn’t get a chance to see it at the cinema, so I had to wait until it came out on video.
Embed from Getty ImagesNoah Centineo has been cast as Ken Masters in the Street Fighter movie (Photo Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images).
When I watched it for the first time, it was enjoyable, but something wasn’t right. It didn’t follow any of the storylines like the video game, and I was confused. Ryu is the star of the show, not Guile. As you may know, if you’ve watched it, Jean-Claude Van Damme is the star, so of course he had to be the hero of the movie.
There are other inaccuracies (such as the lack of backstory for Ryu and Sagat, and Balrog being portrayed as a good guy), but I won’t delve into them now. I will tell you what we know about the 2026 release.
Casting
Several stars have been named for the movie so far. Andrew Koji will play Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, Jason Mamoa as Blanka, and Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki (yes, that Andrew Schulz). WWE superstar Roman Reigns will be playing Akuma, masked country singer Orville Peck will play Vega, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson will play Balrog, and Callina Liang as Chun-Li.
Walton Goggins is rumoured to star as the main villain, M. Bison, while Eric Andre has been mentioned as a ring announcer. Originally, brothers Danny and Michael Philippou were meant to direct the movie, but left due to scheduling conflicts. Kitao Sakurai will now be directing the film.
Early Prediction
I think this movie will be excellent, especially with this cast. There are some surprise castings, like Centineo as Ken, and Andrew Schulz, but if Walton Goggins does end up playing Bison, I have no doubt he will steal the show.
And by some off chance that any of the screenwriters happen to come across this little website of mine and read this article, please stick to the game and have Ryu be the hero and Bison.