Jason Momoa, Noah Centineo & Andrew Koji in Talks For ‘Street Fighter’

Preview:

• Jason Momoa, Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji and Roman Reigns are in talks for ‘Street Fighter.’
• Legendary has ‘Bad Trip’ director Kitao Sakurai on board.
• The movie will adapt the popular video game.

At a time when video game movies are enjoying a true renaissance, with box office hits (‘The Last of Us’), one title is seeking to undo at least two attempts’ worth of bad publicity.

‘Street Fighter,’ which adapts the hugely successful Capcom console and home entertainment system game franchise, has been through the wringer in the past (see below for details on the two largely unsuccessful movies spawned from it), but Legendary and the games company is hoping for better things from a fresh iteration.

And it has some actors now in talks to the cast, with Andrew Koji and Roman Reigns.

Related Article: After Much Talk of the Role, Jason Momoa will be Lobo for ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow’

What’s the story of ‘Street Fighter’?

The games revolve around an international martial arts tournament where fighters from around the world compete to prove their strength and abilities. This is a franchise that gained massive popularity with the release of ‘Street Fighter II’ in 1991, which introduced revolutionary mechanics such as combo attacks and special moves, and greatly influenced arcade and home console gaming.

Subsequent titles have expanded the game’s universe, introducing new characters, complex storylines, and enhanced graphics and gameplay mechanics, so there are potentially rich pickings for anyone looking to adapt it.

Which brings us to the 1994 movie, which didn’t exactly cover itself in glory, but has a fanbase. It starred the likes of Kylie Minogue (who, let’s not forget, pursued acting before becoming a pop megastar).

More recent was 2009’s Kristin Kreuk as the title character, who as a child witnesses her father being captured by wealthy gangster Bison. When she grows up, she goes into a quest for justice and bring down his criminal organization known as Shadaloo.

If you haven’t really heard of that one, you’re not alone –– made for $18 million by Hyde Park Entertainment, it took in around $12 million worldwide and failed to make much of an impact in pop culture.

There was also an animated series, which got a better reception than either movie, but still didn’t really break out.

What has happened with the new ‘Street Fighter’ movie so far?

The latest attempt at bringing ‘Street Fighter’ to screens has been in the works for a couple of years, since Legendary announced its acquisition of live-action film and TV rights back in 2023.

In that time, it has been through at least one set of directors, as Michael Philippou hopped aboard in April of that year, only to depart after a few months of development.

‘Bad Trip,’ was hired in February, and is still attached.

Where else have we seen the cast?

Jason Momoa surely needs no introduction, as he’s been busy for years. He’s worked on giant franchises such as the DCEU (where he was Aquaman, including in ‘Fast & Furious’ universe, playing flamboyant villain Dante.

Notable movies include ‘Hand of Dante’ (no, nothing to do with his ‘Fast’ role.) He's also co-created and stars in new Apple TV+ show 'Chief of War.'

Noah Centineo is a rising star who got his break with the likes of ‘Warfare.’

He may be best known for another Netflix series, action thriller ‘The Recruit.’

Andrew Koji also found notability on the small screen, with his starring role in Cinemax series ‘Boy Kills World.’

Koji is part of the cast for a new crime thriller series called ‘Haven’ that also stars Sophie Turner.

Wrestler-turned-actor Reigns has been seen in movies such as 'The Wrong Missy.'

When will the new ‘Street Fighter’ movie hit theaters?

While Sony and Legendary (tellingly, the former is no longer mentioned in reports on the movie) announced last year that ‘Street Fighter’ would land in theaters on March 20th next year, the fact that the cast are only now in talks and there’s no current word on a writer or a producer makes us think that we’ll be waiting a little longer for this one.

Other Movies and TV Shows in the 'Street Fighter' Franchise

• 'Street Fighter' (1994)
• 'Street Fighter: The Animated Series' (1995)
• 'Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li' (2009)

Buy 'Street Fighter' movies on Amazon