After several twists and turns, the film adaptation of Street Fighter by Legendary Entertainment and Capcom finally has a director. Kitao Sakurai, an American-Japanese filmmaker best known for his work on The Eric Andre Show, will take the reins of the project.

A project in search of stability

This announcement comes after the departure of brothers Danny and Michael Philippou, directors of the horror film Talk to Me, who had initially been approached to direct the feature film. In June 2024, they chose to concentrate on another project, Bring Her Back, leaving Street Fighter without a director and casting doubt over whether it would ever come to fruition.

With the arrival of Sakurai, the project now seems to be on the right track. Although the 42-year-old director has limited experience of making feature films, he is nonetheless a creative force renowned for his work on The Eric Andre Show. He has also directed Bad Trip, a Netflix comedy, and several episodes of the series Twisted Metal and Butterfly. He is also executive producer of season 2 of Beef, a hit Netflix series.

A cult franchise soon to return to the big screen

Capcom is directly involved in this adaptation, co-developed and co-produced with Legendary**. Scheduled for release on 20 March 2026 under the Sony banner, this film will attempt to restore the image of previous film adaptations of Street Fighter.

The franchise has already been adapted twice in Hollywood, the most famous (and controversial) of which was in 1994, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile. Although the film was a critical flop on its release, it has now acquired a cult following among fans, thanks in no small part to its exaggerated tone and the surprising performances of its actors.

Doubtful anticipation

For the moment, very little information has been revealed about this new adaptation. For the time being, Legendary has only shared the film's official logo (at the top of this article), leaving fans waiting for more details about the story, the cast and the artistic direction of the project.

It remains to be seen whether this new version will manage to capture the essence of the famous fighting game, whose latest opus, Street Fighter 6, released in June 2023, won the Best Fighting Game award at the Game Awards 2023.

Sources: Time Extension / Hollywood Reporter