With the glut of video game adaptations being announced over the last year or two, it’s not exactly surprising to hear “Street Fighter” is getting a movie. After all, they did attempt it twice before in an era where video game films were destined to be awful. But after the success of the “Sonic the Hedgehog” films, and especially with “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” koopa-stomping the box-office, it’s open season for capitalizing on a trend.
Legendary has tapped directing duo of Danny and Michael Philippou for the gig. The Australian brothers are mostly known for their YouTube channel RackaRacka, but have picked up a good deal of Hollywood attention for horror film “Talk to Me.” It premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2022 to critical acclaim. It’s scheduled for a wider release this July, but currently sits with a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes; an insanely high score for a horror film.
There are currently no actors or writers announced for the project, nor are there any confirmed characters. With a roster as rich and varied as “Street Fighter” has to offer, there’s any number of directions it can go. The original theatrical release from 1994 decided to go with the U.S. military agent, Guile as the main character,. This was a sharp deviation from the games which prominently featured Ryu as the main character. They both featured M. Bison as the main antagonist though. And while Bison has remained a villain throughout the franchise, there have been other antagonistic figures who could be in the upcoming film. It may be the right time for Akuma to take centerstage, especially if the movie wants to take a darker tone. After all, Akuma literally translates in Japanese to demon or devil.
The only thing to really be careful with is how the storylines in the game itself have always been a bit out there. Look no further than the backstory of Blanka to see how absurd they can get. But if the producers can get a script going that focuses on the martial arts and strip away some of the more ridiculous aspects of the franchise, you could have something fun here. There’s a lot to play around with in this intellectual property and we look forward to reporting on what the Philippou brothers come up with.
