Legendary’s Street Fighter movie is quickly getting a stacked cast of major A-listers — some of which were completely unexpected picks. Here’s everyone who’s been revealed so far.
Capcom’s beloved fighting game series is coming back to the silver screen for the first time in 30 years, and it seems to be following in the footsteps of its predecessor.
The 1994 live-action flick, famous for being “so bad it’s good,” featured stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ming-Na Wen and Raul Julia — and it looks like its spiritual successor is set to be much the same.
Casting announcements have been trickling in across social media over the last few weeks, leaving fighting game fans equal parts excited and confused at who’s been chosen to represent some of Street Fighter’s most iconic characters.
Chun-Li: Callina Liang
Callina Liang is set to play Chun-Li, the ‘first lady of fighting games’ and one of the most popular characters in gaming to this day.
Liang is 24 years old and best known for her roles in horror films and thrillers like Presence, Bad Genius and even Apple TV+’s Foundation sci-fi series.
She is currently based in London and speaks fluent Mandarin, on top of boasting martial arts experience in Wushu and Silat.
Ryu: Andrew Koji
Koji is a Japanese-English actor in his late 30s who broke onto the scene in Cinemax’s Warrior series in 2019. Since then, he’s played a number of major roles in movies like Snake Eyes and even Bullet Train, in which he played Yuichi ‘The Father’ Kimura.
Koji has been acting since he was a teen and worked as an actor and martial artist in both Thailand and Japan. He has experience in taekwondo and Shaolin Kung Fu.
Ken: Noah Centineo
In perhaps one of the more surprising castings in Legendary’s Street Fighter reboot, Noah Centineo plays the role of Ken Masters, Ryu’s best friend and a pretty boy martial artist who trained alongside him under the same master.
The 29-year-old actor is best known for his role as the love interest in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, also having a history on Disney’s Austin & Ally. While he hasn’t had any public martial arts training, it’s worth noting that he did play an action-focused role in Black Adam as Atom Smasher.
Akuma: Roman Reigns
American professional wrestler Roman Reigns is playing one of the deadliest characters in all of fighting games: Akuma. While he’s significantly taller than the ‘Great Ogre’ at 6’3, Reigns’ casting has been met with tentative excitement from fans of the video game series.
Akuma (meaning ‘devil’ in Japanese) is a wandering martial artist who has succumbed to the dark energy of the Satsui no Hadou and is always seeking a fight with the world’s strongest fighters. He’s more of an anti-hero than a villain and one of Street Fighter’s canonically strongest characters.
Reigns already boasts years of combat experience in the WWE and boasts an intimidating physique. If anyone can pull off a Raging Demon in real life, it’s him.
Blanka: Jason Momoa
Blanka is one of the wildest characters Street Fighter has to offer — literally. He turned into the hulking green guy we know and love after an incident with electric eels as a child following a plane crash in the jungle (although his backstory in the 1994 Street Fighter movie was far different from his actual lore).
Blanka is a fun-loving character who has electric powers, being able to stun opponents to deal big damage. While Jason Momoa has certainly shown off his athletic prowess in productions like Game of Thrones and Aquaman, it remains to be seen if he can do a Blanka Ball without CGI.
M. Bison: David Dastmalchian
Street Fighter’s primary antagonist is M. Bison, a mysterious man who seeks to rule the world using Psycho Power — a spiritual energy driven by hatred, sorrow and negativity. He’s a genuine psychopath with a god complex and is borderline immortal, using the Psycho Drive to channel his spirit into new bodies to avoid death.
He’s also got a ton of clones, both for backup bodies and other spare bodies that have gone on to become key figures in Street Fighter (Cammy, Abel, Ed, etc.). Bison is the leader of Shadaloo, a criminal organization that employs the likes of Vega, Balrog and Sagat.
David Dastmalchian has been cast to play the devious dictator — although fans are noticing that he’ll have to bulk up if he wants to match Bison’s muscular physique. Viewers might know David from his roles in Dune, The Dark Knight, Suicide Squad and Ant-Man. While he doesn’t have any record of martial arts experience, he has trained at Ijo Ija Academy of Martial Arts based in LA and has performed fight choreography in his previous roles.
Balrog: 50 Cent
American rapper 50 Cent, best known for hits like P.I.M.P. and Candy Shop among many others, is playing the role of Balrog, a dirty boxer who’s got one motivation: money. He decides to work under M. Bison as one of Shadaloo’s ‘Four Kings,’ where he carries out Bison’s bidding.
50 has acted in plenty of productions before and has ample boxing experience, training in the sport in his early teens. It’s believed that he was a Golden Gloves boxer and even good enough to have competed in the Junior Olympics, so it’s safe to say he’s got the fundamentals to bring justice to Street Fighter’s resident pugilist.
Vega: Orville Peck
Vega is one part ninja and one part bull fighter, bringing a unique flair to the Street Fighter series with his high-flying, fast moves and detachable claw, which can fall off and be picked up during matches. He’s obsessed with physical beauty and will go to great lengths to protect his face, which he covers with a mask.
Country singer Orville Peck wears a similar mask as part of his stage persona. While his primary focus is music, he did train in ballet and is a skilled dancer — elegant attributes that will no doubt benefit playing Vega on the big screen.
Dan Hibiki: Andrew Schulz
In one of the most head-scratching castings we’ve ever seen, comedian and podcast host Andrew Schulz is slated to play Dan Hibiki, a who was initially put in Street Fighter Alpha as a ‘joke character’ with extremely weak moves.
Dan practices a self-created fighting style called Saikyo-Ryu out of his own dojo, which is famously struggling to find members. While he’s definitely a good pick for a comedian to portray, some netizens were divided on Schulz taking the role.
Schulz himself is a noted martial arts enthusiast, even getting in the ring for a sparring match with Sean O’Malley. He’s also a big Street Fighter fan, saying in an interview with ScreenRant:
““[I was] obsessed with Street Fighter growing up. In middle school, I would take all my parents’ spare change and go to a deli during lunch and play Marvel vs. Capcom… I’m playing Dan Hibiki. There’s some cool lore about his character. They created him in a later Street Fighter game as an insult to a competitive game trying to rip off Street Fighter. “
Cody Rhodes in talks to play Guile
Another pro wrestler, Cody Rhodes, is reportedly in talks to play Guile, one of Street Fighter’s main characters. First played by Jean-Claude Van Damme in 1994, Guile is a member of the US Air Force and practices hand-to-hand military close-quarters combat. He’s best friends with Charlie, who was killed by M. Bison (and later resurrected by Third Strike’s Gill in SFV).
Guile’s iconic moves include the sonic boom and flash kick — and given Rhode’s experience pulling off flashy fights in the wrestling ring, we can bet he’d be a great fit for the character if things move forward.
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