Street Fighter is a 2026 martial arts film directed by Kitao Sakurai from a screenplay by T. J. Fixman and Sakurai and a story by Dalan Musson and Gary Dauberman. It is the third live-action feature-length film based on the Street Fighter video game series by Capcom. The ensemble cast includes Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Eric André, Andrew Schulz, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, and Jason Momoa. Its plot follows Chun-Li who recruits the fighters Ryu and Ken Masters to join a martial arts tournament and confront M. Bison.
Legendary Entertainment acquired the live-action film and television rights to Street Fighter in April 2023, by which point the film had entered active development, with Capcom co-producing. Danny and Michael Philippou were announced as directors before dropping out in June 2024, with Sakurai joining the following February. Casting took place between May and June 2025. Principal photography began in August 2025 and ended in November.
Street Fighter is scheduled for release in the United States by Paramount Pictures on October 16, 2026.
Contents
Plot
In 1987, Japanese-born Ryu defeats Sagat in the first World Warrior tournament, but his fighting abilities awaken the deity Akuma, who murders Gouken, Ryu's mentor. The incident results in him and his adoptive brother Ken Masters going their separate ways.
Six years later, M. Bison, dictator of the country of Shadaloo, initiates the second World Warrior tournament in the city of Metrolao, with Chun-Li recruiting Ryu, Ken and several other fighters around the world. Ryu initially declines the invitation, but goes to Metrolao to warn Ken not to participate. After Ken refuses to listen, Ryu challenges and defeats E. Honda to take his spot in the tournament. Meanwhile, Chun-Li is revealed to be an undercover Interpol agent who is intent on avenging her father's death at the hands of Bison. On the night before the tournament, the fighters get into a brawl at a bar until they are incapacitated by Bison's soldiers, with Ryu taken away to Bison's spire.
During the tournament, Vega defeats Guile while Ken triumphs over Shadaloo boxer Balrog. Ryu wakes up at the spire, where Bison offers him to join his empire. When Ryu rejects the offer, he is forced to fight Blanka in prison, with Bison activating a device to extract Ryu's fighting power. After his attempts to avoid fighting fail, Ryu fires a Hadouken that destroys the prison walls and overloads the device, allowing Blanka to escape.
Prior to his next match, Ken is warned by Chun-Li about Bison's plans for Ryu. After defeating Dhalsim in the semifinals, Ken springs Ryu out of prison, but they are shortly captured. Ken awakens to see Ryu strapped to a device for Bison to absorb his powers. Just as the device is activated, Blanka breaks into the room and frees Ryu. Chun-Li storms into Bison's office to challenge him to a fight, but Bison unleashes Vega and Juli on her. She defeats them, but is knocked out by Bison's Psycho Crusher attack. Ryu and Ken regroup only for Ryu to reveal his jealousy of Ken's positive attitude that he held him back by destroying his invitation to the first tournament. This results in a fight between the duo until Ryu defeats Ken with a Hadouken.
Back at the tournament, Joe, a kickboxer, is declared champion after Ken fails to show up. Akuma suddenly emerges, having been summoned by Ryu's fighting activity, and destroys Joe right before Ryu appears to confront him. Ryu is overwhelmed by Akuma's attacks, causing him to unleash his dark persona "Evil Ryu", defeating Akuma. Ken, Chun-Li, and Ken's manager Dan Hibiki attempt to stop Ryu, but he is proven to be too powerful for them until Ken knocks him out with a Hadouken that he finally unlocks within himself. Bison has his troops recover Akuma's body and prevents the heroes from chasing him. The next day, Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, and Dan escape alongside Guile and Dhalsim. Meanwhile, a scarred Sagat receives a visit by Bison and his lieutenants.
Cast
The character El Fuerte appears portrayed by an uncredited actor. Additionally, Kyle Mooney appears in a minor role as Martin, while streamers Maximilian Dood, LazarBeam, Lachlan, and Bubbell, professional fighting game players Justin Wong and IFC Yipes, and internet personality Nathan Lust make some cameo appearances as Bison's inmates.
Production
Development
In April 2023, Legendary Entertainment purchased the live-action film and television rights to the Street Fighter video game series by Capcom. It would be the third live-action adaptation following Street Fighter (1994) by Universal Pictures and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) by 20th Century Fox. The brothers Danny and Michael Philippou were in talks to direct. In June 2024, they dropped out to direct Bring Her Back (2025). In February 2025, Kitao Sakurai was hired to direct.
Casting
Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, Orville Peck and Callina Liang were cast in June 2025. Shortly thereafter, 50 Cent confirmed that he had been cast as Balrog, and Andrew Schulz joined as Dan Hibiki. In July, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Hirooki Goto, and Vidyut Jammwal joined as M. Bison, Guile, E. Honda, and Dhalsim. In September, Eric André, Olivier Richters, Mel Jarnson, Rayna Vallandingham, Alexander Volkanovski and Kyle Mooney were announced to have joined. To prepare for her role as Chun-Li, Liang trained daily in Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Wushu for approximately two hours, focused heavily on leg strength, and adopted a rigorous bulking diet that included consuming 12 eggs per day and eating every two hours—a regimen she described as leaving her "on the verge of throwing up". By the end of filming, each of her thighs had increased by 6.5 centimeters (2.6 in). In October 2026, it was announced that Don Lee would voice Gouken in flashback sequences.
Filming
Principal photography began in Australia on August 18, 2025, under the working title Punch, with Ken Seng as the cinematographer. Filming wrapped on November 12.
Post-production
Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson composed the film's score, having previously collaborated with director Kitao Sakurai on the Twisted Metal series. The film's visual effects were provided by Digital Domain, DNEG, Framestore, Niche VFX and Od Studios!, with Sandra Balej serving as visual effects supervisor. Titmouse, Inc. will be handling the animated flashback sequences in the film.
Marketing
On February 2, 2026, Legendary appointed Hasbro as the global master toy licensee for the film. A graphic novel anthology would be published by Legendary Comics featuring five stories set before the events of the film. One of the stories featuring Bison would be written by David Dastmalchian who portrays him in the film. A crowdfunding campaign was launched on September 9, 2026, on Kickstarter.
Release
Street Fighter is scheduled for release in the US by Paramount Pictures on October 16, 2026, in IMAX. It was scheduled for March 20, 2026, by Sony Pictures Releasing as part of their previous deal with Legendary, but was taken off the schedule less than a year before its release, after Legendary's deal with Sony expired in November 2024. In August 2025, Paramount was in talks to distribute the film after signing a deal with Legendary. In September, they gained distribution rights. In an interview with MovieWeb in October, Sakurai said a sequel was being made.
