Summary
- Kitao Sakurai is the new director for the upcoming Street Fighter movie, bringing his comedic expertise.
- Incorporating humor in the film will accentuate the flamboyant and absurd nature of the game.
- Adding comedy to Street Fighter can make characters engaging and boost commercial performance.
Street Fighter is set to return to the big screen next year. A new report just revealed a positive update about the anticipated movie.
The next Street Fighter movie was announced on April 3, 2023, after Legendary Entertainment acquired the film and TV rights to the franchise from Capcom, which developed and published the series of fighting games. Directors Danny and Michael Philippou were initially attached to helm the project, but they dropped in mid-2024, leaving the film without a director. After a couple of months, Street Fighter has reportedly found a new director, which is a positive update since the movie is expected to be released in 2026.
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Capcom and Legendary hired Kitao Sakurai to step into the director’s chair, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sakurai is best known for directing The Eric André Show and Netflix’s comedy-drama Bad Trip. He co-wrote and directed the latter, which starred Eric Andre, Tiffany Haddish, Lil Rel Howery, and Allan Graf. Sakuai is not new to live-action video game adaptations because he has directed multiple episodes of Peacock’s Twisted Metal series. The show takes inspiration from the Twisted Metal video game franchise that focuses on a narrative-driven post-apocalyptic story. It was released in July 2023 and starred Captain America: Brave New World lead Anthony Mackie.
Capcom is co-developing and co-producing the live-action adaptation with Legendary. Sony will be distributing the film. The upcoming Street Fighter film will be the third live-action movie in the franchise. In 1994, the first film was released, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia, and directed by Steven E. de Souza. The second movie Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and starring Kristin Kreuk, was released in 2009. The first movie was a commercial success but a critical flop. However, the second one was considered one of the worst video game movies ever developed and a commercial and critical disaster. It seems that Capcom and Legendary are taking a different approach for the third Street Fighter movie.
Sakurai is a versatile director who has worked in various genres. However, his works have a notable emphasis on comedy. With this in mind, fans can expect an action-packed and hilarious film. Adding comedic elements to Street Fighter is welcome since it’s not as dark and gritty as Mortal Combat. Capcom’s famous game franchise features flamboyant characters like Blanka, Dhalsim, and Zangief. Additionally, it is known for its absurd special moves like Hadoukens and Spinning Bird Kicks. Thus, incorporating humor will be easy as it is authentic to the material. In fact, some of the criticism that the second film received was taking it too seriously despite its thin plot.
Also, comedy makes characters and some scenes memorable when interjected at the perfect time. For Street Fighter, adding humor can make fighters more engaging. Since the franchise is naturally wild, adding comedic elements will only make it cohesive and not silly. Also, action-comedies often perform better commercially than pure action movies alone, like Deadpool, Guardians of the Galaxy and Bad Boys. Hopefully, the next film will redeem Street Fighter after experiencing a massive flop last time.
Street Fighter will be released in 2026.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter