Updated:
Readtime: 4 min
Every product is carefully selected by our editors and experts. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more. For more information on how we test products, click here.
For years, video game movies tried to sand off the weird bits. They wanted to be dark, grittier, more believable. Which is tricky when your source material includes green electric beasts, yoga fireballs, and a man whose hair naturally stands at military attention.
The first full trailer for Paramount’s new Street Fighter has officially landed, and to its credit, it looks like this video game movie is going full arcade mode.
Across the nearly three minutes of footage, there are direct nods to the games everywhere. Andrew Koji’s Ryu charges up a “Hadouken”. Noah Centineo’s Ken smashes up a car in what looks like a straight lift from the iconic Street Fighter II bonus stage. Callina Liang’s Chun-Li arrives to recruit fighters for the World Warrior Tournament, while David Dastmalchian’s M. Bison lurks in the background doing deeply M. Bison things.
Watch the Street Fighter 2026 Trailer
What Is the New Street Fighter Movie About?
Set in 1993, Street Fighter centres on former allies Ryu and Ken Masters, who are dragged back into the fight when Chun-Li assembles contenders for the next World Warrior Tournament. Naturally, it’s not just about winning the tournament. Behind it all is a wider conspiracy involving M. Bison, while old tensions between the two fighters threaten to boil over at the worst possible time.
If you expected an actual street fight, the green monster and flying fireballs may come as a surprise.
Street Fighter was never built on realism. It became a phenomenon through instantly recognisable fighters, impossible moves, cartoon rivalries and the kind of visual personality that made every cabinet stand out in an arcade. With fellow fighting-game adaptation Mortal Kombat II due later this year and leaning hard into bloodshed and brutality, Street Fighter appears to be taking the opposite lane: brighter, louder, and far less interested in behaving itself.
Director Kitao Sakurai, known for The Eric Andre Show, Bad Trip, and four episodes of Twisted Metal, actually feels like a smart pick here. His best work understands that chaos still needs control, and that ridiculous ideas only land when everyone commits to them completely. That skillset should come in handy in a film where people throw fireballs and fight a man named Blanka.
The cast is equally unhinged. Jason Momoa as Blanka. Curtis Jackson as Balrog. Joe Anoa’i (Roman Reigns) as Akuma. Cody Rhodes as Guile. Crucially, nobody seems embarrassed to be there. Every strange haircut, growl and costume choice is being played dead straight, which is exactly how this sort of thing works.
This is the third live-action swing at Street Fighter, after the 1994 cult oddity starring Raúl Juliá and the flat 2009 reboot Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. While the bizarrely sincere ’94 film is certainly memorable, the other stripped away most of the personality people came for.
This trailer suggests the new version has identified the obvious fix: let Street Fighter be Street Fighter.
Because if your heroes shout Hadouken before throwing blue fire across a room, playing it straight was never the smart option.
Street Fighter 2026 Release Date
Street Fighter hits cinemas on 16 October 2026, putting it alongside a busy slate of gaming and adaptation releases this year.
Full Cast and Crew for Street Fighter (2026)
Director: Kitao Sakurai
Writers:
- Dalan Musson
- Story by Gary Dauberman
- Story by T. J. Fixman
- Screenplay by Kitao Sakurai
Cast:
- Jason Momoa as Blanka
- David Dastmalchian as M. Bison
- Noah Centineo as Ken Masters
- Olivier Richters as Zangief
- Andrew Koji as Ryu
- Eric Andre as Don Sauvage
- Joe Anoa’i as Akuma
- Curtis Jackson as Balrog
- Mel Jarnson as Cammy
- Rayna Vallandingham as Juli
- Cody Rhodes as Guile
- Orville Peck as Vega
- Callina Liang as Chun-Li
- Kyle Mooney as Marvin
- Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim
- Kristy Best as JJ
- Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki
- Hirooki Goto as E. Honda
- Alexander Volkanovski as Joe
Street Fighter 2026 FAQs
Street Fighter releases in cinemas on 16 October 2026. Paramount Pictures is distributing the film.
Andrew Koji, known for Warrior and Bullet Train, plays Ryu in the 2026 Street Fighter film.
Kitao Sakurai is directing Street Fighter (2026). His previous work includes The Eric Andre Show, Bad Trip, and episodes of Twisted Metal.
No. Street Fighter (2026) is the third live-action adaptation, following the 1994 cult film starring Raúl Juliá and 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li.
Jason Momoa plays the green-skinned beast Blanka in the 2026 adaptation of Street Fighter.
Comments
We love hearing from you. or to leave a comment.