The director of “Street Fighter,” the latest attempt to adapt the venerable fighting game franchise for the big screen in live-action form, has revealed why it took so long for the project to gestate.
Legendary obtained the screen rights to the franchise in 2023 and hired Australian twin filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou (“Talk to Me,” “Bring Her Back”) to direct. Soon after, they exited the project over scheduling issues, and Kitao Sakurai (“Bad Trip”) took over. Filming eventually began in late 2025.
Takayuki Nakayama, the director of the “Street Fighter 6” video game, was attached to the project throughout the two-year period between obtaining the rights and when filming began.
Speaking with Dexerto recently, Nakayama revealed that he spent a good portion of those two years helping rewrite the script after the first draft proved to be inadequate. He adds that as he was “directly involved in the process” he has “absolutely no worries”:
“To be honest, the first script I received was pretty rough, probably exactly the way people are imagining it would be. We spent about two years turning it into what it is now… The director and the whole team really took the time to break down what makes Street Fighter tick and reflect on the experiences that shaped us growing up; the people making it are Street Fighter fans themselves. So, you can rest easy on that front.”
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 film’s massive cast also includes Cody Rhodes as Guile, Orville Peck as Vega, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Olivier Richters as Zangief, Mel Jarnson as Cammy, Alexander Volkanovski as Joe, Rayna Vallandingham as Juli, 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.
“Street Fighter” opens in cinemas on October 16th.
