For the team behind Paramount Pictures’ Street Fighter, the film is deeply personal. Director Kitao Sakurai and cast members Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, and Jason Momoa all grew up playing the CAPCOM game, and say that the crafting of this adaptation is both for lifelong fans like themselves and newcomers alike.
The game shaped each of their childhoods uniquely: Andrew Koji, born in the same year the original title debuted in 1987, grew up playing its sequels. Noah Centineo spent hours at a basement arcade cabinet playing exclusively as Blanka. Director Kitao Sakurai, growing up half-Japanese in Ohio, connected with Ryu as the first fictional character who reflected his own identity.
“As a Japanese-American filmmaker, to have the honor to do Street Fighter makes me feel incredibly proud. To be able to incorporate the feelings I had as a child, to be able to bring to life the aspects of the game that as a fan, you felt in your heart, is exactly what I hope the movie captures. We’re excited that this is the most accurate Street Fighter adaptation ever made, in terms of the fighting styles, the moves, the costumes and the tone and spirit of the characters,” said Sakurai.
Jason Momoa, who plays the character of Blanka, says the connection is just as personal, “Street Fighter will make you laugh, and cry, and have a really great time. This is my childhood. Street Fighter was everything growing up. For existing fans, and new fans, it’s such a diverse world and cast - there’s something for everyone in it.”
Andrew Koji, who plays Ryu, says the cast felt the weight of that fandom, “We all wanted to make sure that not only can we get new fans to love it, but the hardcore fans too. There are so many nods we put in there and we’re bringing a Street Fighter film that has never been done before and hopefully will be remembered for a long time to come.”
Noah Centineo, starring as Ken Masters, says, “It’s a huge movie. It is so visually stimulating that seeing that on a huge screen is the way to see it. The fights are sweaty, and bloody, you want to see that huge, and the sound design – the seats are going to shake.”
Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past.
A Legendary Pictures Production in Association with Capcom; Paramount Pictures’ Street Fighter is based on the CAPCOM Video Game. It is directed by Kitao Sakurai and produced by Mary Parent, Cale Boyter, Jason Momoa, Takayuki Nakayama, Stefan Makhoul.
Street Fighter will release this Friday, October 16, across India in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu.