Legendary‘s live-action “Street Fighter” movie has a new director: “Bad Trip” director Kitao Sakurai.
Deadline reports that Sakurai takes over from “Talk To Me” Danny and Michael Philippou after the RackaRacka filmmakers exited the project last summer. Legendary acuired the exclusive film and TV rights to the popular Capcom fighting game in April 2023, when the Phillipous first signed on to direct. But now it’s Sakurai at the helm, who has some experience adapting video games with his work on Peacock‘s “Twisted Metal” series.
And since “Bad Trip, Sakurai’s filmography has mostly been in TV. Along with “Twisted Metal,” recent credits for the director include “Dave, “The Premise,” and several episodes of the upcoming Amazon spy thriller “Butterfly” starring Daniel Dae Kim. Sakurai also serves as executive producer on “Beef” Season 2 for Netflix and A24, one of TV’s most anticipated 2025 titles. The director also received an Emmy nod for his work on “The Eric Andre Show.”
But back to “Street Fighter.” There hasn’t been a film based on the video game franchise since 20th Century Fox‘s poorly received 2009 film “Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li.” The new movie won’t have any tie-in to that film or the 1994 film with Jean-Claude Van Damme, however. Instead, expect a clean slate for the franchise, and some connection to the well-reviewed “Street Fighter 6,” which won Best Fighting Game at the 2023 Game Awards.
Plot details for “Street Fighter” remain under wraps for now. However, it’s easy to surmise what it’ll be about, though, as each game follows the same formula: fighters face off against each other in a tournament run by the megalomaniacal M. Bison, who vies for world domination.
Stay tuned for more casting news on “Street Fighter” soon, which should hit its planned March 20, 2026 theatrical release barring any delays in development.
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