It's a very explosive time for video game adaptations. Some announcements give me worry, like Baldur's Gate 3, a D&D video game with almost countless endings, getting a canon sequel TV series. However, there are so many exciting projects coming soon that look promising, and that feels weird to say.
Interesting films and shows in development are Amazon's Warhammer 40k and Mass Effect, Netflix's Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Assassin's Creed, and Sony's Bloodborne, but we likely won't be hearing about them for quite a while (hopefully I'm wrong). As for releases in the near future, we still haven't seen a first look for Zach Cregger's Resident Evil.
Watch the Street Fighter trailer
Street Fighter's new movie has been in the back of my mind, though. The character designs and teasers we saw months ago looked very cool and true to the game, but I still had my doubts. However, this new trailer brought Street Fighter back into the forefront of my memory, and now I can't stop thinking about it.
Directed by Kitao Sakurai, this iteration of Street Fighter is shaping up to be as bright, flashy, and full of bombastic characters as the games are.
We have a slate of classic characters, who look almost exactly like their video game counterparts, as realistically yet stylishly as possible. The costumes aren't shy, embracing everything the iconic fighters were known for.
In the trailer, there's a playful joke between Cammy (Mel Jarnson) and Chun-Li (Callina Liang), known for showing off their thunder-kicking legs. Balrog (50 Cent) even goes full zig-zag hairline. It's refreshing to see an adaptation that's not ashamed of its source material and dives headfirst into it.
A confession, but I am a fan of the ‘90s Street Fighter movie. Yes, the live-action one. It's a guilty pleasure. It had its charm, and the costumes in that version, for the most part, were great. So, comparing the looks of Street Fighter 2026 to Street Fighter 1994, it's a huge power up in visuals, costumes, and spectacle.
It's also drawing similarities to another fighting game adaptation...
Mortal Kombat 2 is finally coming this year, on May 8. Though another fighting game adaptation, it hardly overlaps with Street Fighter. Beautifully campy as well, sure, but it is an R-Rated film. Street Fighter is a much more teen-friendly property. Ironically, the two fighting game movies with tournament plots are not competitors, for the most part. It's actually quite exciting for fans of both!
Another similarity I spotted was that we have protagonists who are washed-up celebrities. In Street Fighter, Ken (Noah Centineo) seems to be going through a midlife crisis, constantly drinking, and overly confident in his fighting skills. Mortal Kombat 2 introduces iconic character Johnny Cage (Karl Urban), who is a has-been action-hero actor who believes his best days might be behind him, and is a reluctant hero in the Mortal Kombat tournament.
That's just about where the similarities end, except for the tyrannical villains.
I would also like to point out that it seems like Street Fighter is staying more accurate to the character's power origins. In Mortal Kombat, they changed the power system to give the characters abilities based on realizing their potential or getting super stressed in a fight. It was weird, in my opinion. Instead of Jax getting experimental cyborg arms, he "manifests" them. It cuts out the cool sci-fi and magic systems the original Mortal Kombat had. I am hoping Street Fighter will be different.
Street Fighter releases in theaters on October 16, 2026.
Add us as a preferred source on Google