Name: Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Released: 2009

Hollywood’s earlier attempts at Street Fighter put movie stars in costume and asked audiences to believe in the punches. The new live-action version from Paramount and Legendary goes to the ring instead. As Variety’s cast guide lays out, a good part of its roster comes from professional wrestling, mixed martial arts and bodybuilding, with rappers, a country singer and stand-up comedians filling the gaps between them.

The wrestling contingent sits at the top of the villain chart. WWE star Roman Reigns plays Akuma, one of the series’ most powerful villains and a frequent final boss, while Cody Rhodes takes Guile, the Air Force pilot with the flat-top, in what Variety calls his largest film role to date. Alexander Volkanovski, a two-time UFC champion, turns up as Joe, a background fighter from the very first game. Japanese pro wrestler Hirooki Goto makes his American feature debut as the sumo E. Honda, and towering bodybuilder Olivier Richters, already seen in Reacher and Black Widow, plays the Soviet grappler Zangief.

The actors carry the story around them. Andrew Koji, the martial artist who played Storm Shadow in Snake Eyes, is Ryu, and Noah Centineo is Ken, here a loudmouth, washed-up celebrity trying to claw his way back after his childhood training partner became world champion. Callina Liang, of Presence and Bad Genius, bulked up to play Chun-Li. David Dastmalchian is M. Bison, and Mel Jarnson, who played Nitara in Mortal Kombat, is his agent Cammy.

The rest of the casting leans toward celebrity and comedy. Jason Momoa plays the electric green brawler Blanka, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is the boxer Balrog. Country singer Orville Peck makes his film debut behind Vega’s mask, a role that suits a performer who almost never appears without one. Comedians Andrew Schulz and Eric Andre play the hapless Dan Hibiki and the announcer Don Sauvage. Indian actor and martial artist Vidyut Jammwal makes his American feature debut as Dhalsim, Rayna Vallandingham of Cobra Kai plays Juli, and Don Lee voices the mentor Gouken.

That register matches the director. Kitao Sakurai comes from Beef, Dave and The Eric Andre Show, and he took over a project that previously had Danny and Michael Philippou, the brothers behind Talk to Me and Bring Her Back, attached.

The film is set in the 1990s around a worldwide fighting tournament, and it is the third Street Fighter feature. The 1994 film cast Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile, Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li and Kylie Minogue as Cammy. The 2009 follow-up, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, starring Kristin Kreuk, Neal McDonough and Michael Clarke Duncan, is described by Variety as a notorious flop. The new version opened in US theaters on October 16, 2026, after a rollout across Europe, Asia and Latin America that began on October 14.

In 1994, Guile’s flat-top belonged to a martial-arts movie star. In 2026, it sits on a WWE star, and the game’s most powerful villain is played by another.