The long-awaited return ofStreet Fighterto the big screen has cast another iconic character from the video game franchise. Chun-Li will be making her presence known in the new film, which has already cast several major characters that longtime fans will instantly recognize.
According to Deadline,Presencestar Callina Liang has joined the upcomingStreet Fighterreboot as Chun-Li. She joinsa star-studded castthat includes Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, Jason Momoa, Roman Reigns, and Orville Peck. In the source material, Chun-Li is known as a martial artist and Interpol officer who seeks revenge against the murderer of her father, the franchise’s main antagonist, M. Bison. Her inclusion likely means that audiences will see Bison on the big screen after Raul Julia portrayed the character in the 1994 cult classic.Street Fighteris set to be directed by Kitao Sakurai (Bad Trip).
Chun-Li was previously featured in the 2009 featureStreet Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, which failed to jumpstart a franchise after failing both commercially and critically. It starredSmallvilleactorKristin Kreuk in the lead role. 15 years later, Liang will take on the mantle in an all-new reboot that will likely ignore past film adaptations. Liang starred inPresence,the critically acclaimed horror thrillerby Steven Soderbergh that also included Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland, and Julia Fox. Most recently, the newStreet Fighteractress was featured inBad Genius, a 2024 heist thriller from J.C. Lee that starred Benedict Wong, Callina Liang, Jabari Banks, Taylor Hickson, and Sarah-Jane Redmond.
Original ‘Street Fighter’ Directors Tease “Amazing, Awesome” Action Scenes
BeforeBad Tripdirector Kitao Sakurai boarded the upcomingStreet Fighterreboot, the filmmaking duo behind horror hitsTalk to Me andBring Her Backwere set to helm the video game adaptation. Fortunately, Legendary was able to replace them with another talented director, but Danny and Michael Philippourecently revealed detailsbehind their extensive work on the project. The original vision forStreet Fightersounded exciting, to say the least, and exactly what fans have been waiting for since the original 1994 film.
“We were so excited for Street Fighter. We were in the rabbit hole for Street Fighter and creating set pieces. These amazing, awesome set pieces, because we had the resources to be able to do it. Everything we pitched to Legendary, like, ‘What we’re thinking is this,’ they would say ‘Yep.’ The things that we wanted to do, and having it so action-based… they were all for it. It just sucks. It was just scheduling. It didn’t line up, which is so unfortunate.”
It’s unclear if their work onStreet Fighterwill be used in the final product, but it is hard not to imagine what the original vision by the Philippous could have looked like. Of course, this will all be forgiven and forgotten ifStreet Fighterrocks audiences when the film hits the big screen. Originally set for a March 2026 release, an official theatrical release date remains unknown.
Source:Deadline
Street Fighter
