9 Street Fighter Characters The 2026 Movie May Fail to Adapt

Though the Street Fighter fan base might not be quite as rabid as it was back in the 90s, fans of the franchise (myself included) have a lot of hopes and fears regarding the upcoming film adaptation. Hollywood has had a go at adapting Street Fighter. In fact, they’ve had two goes. Neither time has there been anything other than an unmitigated failure.

While the story of the Street Fighter games is usually pretty simple, the characters themselves are the really beloved bit of the franchise, at least for me. Everybody has their favourites, and characters who they consider the coolest, or most unique. While some fan favourites may not appear in the new film, many of the most consistently popular ones are set to make the live-action leap, and fans will have their own fears regarding the new adaptation.

9 Dan Hibiki

Will The Joke Translate To The Screen?

The funniest inclusion in the known cast for the Street Fighter movie is Dan Hibiki. Not every fighter can be a real badass winner, and Hibiki is the perfect loser character from Street Fighter history to include. He is known as an overconfident, feeble addition to the cast. He also has his own history around thinking (incorrectly) that he defeated the man who killed his father before opening a fighting school based on his own style.

Andrew Schulz, a notable comedian, has been cast to bring Hibiki to life on the big screen. While it will probably only amount to a comedic bit role, the main danger for fans like myself around this character is that the bit might not land well. Schulz in the role is a promising comedic bit, but Hollywood has failed to translate so many things from video games in the past that there’s simply no guarantee with this one.

8 Blanka

Jason Momoa’s Safe Hands

One of the characters fans have their trepidations about, but feel should be relatively safe, is Blanka, the green beast. This Brazilian character is being taken on by Jason Momoa, a beloved actor and one of the most notable names added to the cast of this Street Fighter film. The biggest fear there could be around this character is simply that Jason Momoa isn’t Brazilian, but many, if not all, are behind this bit of casting regardless of that.

Momoa has a history, and a bright future, in playing insane, feral characters. His casting as Lobo in this summer’s Supergirl film is proof of that. However, Blanka is an intensely Brazilian character. He was once voted as the third most famous Brazilian worldwide despite being fictional! That is where the fear around this casting lies.

7 Akuma

WWE Meets Hollywood

Roman Reigns is the definition of aura as a WWE superstar. In theory, or in fan casting, he’s a great choice for Akuma. However, in Hollywood terms, he doesn’t have a lot of experience, and rumours suggest he could be a major villain in the Street Fighter movie. Fans are worried about this, because Reigns definitely has the fearsome qualities required for such a role, but does he necessarily have the acting chops to follow?

When it comes to Hollywood casting, fans really do have to take a backseat and nurse our fears in silence while we wait for the film to actually be released. Having watched Reigns grow into his role as the top star in WWE for a decade now, I’m convinced he can pull off this character, but there are definitely some lingering fears among the fan base.

6 Chun-Li

Looking Good So Far

Probably the most beloved character in the Street Fighter franchise, Chun-Li is who many fans are clamoring for most of all in the new Street Fighter film. Whether or not the young Callina Liang can pull the role off remains to be seen, as she doesn’t have much action experience, or any sort of acting experience to be honest.

Having appeared in two films and two TV series total so far, this is a make-or-break moment for Liang’s career in Hollywood. The trailer showed off quite a lot of Chun-Li, recruiting fighters for the tournament, bantering with Cammy, and in action herself, so fingers are definitely crossed that this will be a huge success for a character with enduring popularity over decades, and a new Hollywood action star in Liang.

5 Dhalsim

An Ability Tricky To Adapt

If the history of failed Fantastic Four films has proven anything, it’s how difficult it is to make stretching powers cool in live-action. Dhalsim is a Street Fighter character with the notable ability to stretch his limbs in combat. He’s also a mystical yogi who joins tournaments in the games only to raise money for his poor village, making him a moral choice for fans. A personal favourite for me, his appearance in the Street Fighter movie trailer was both exciting and somewhat concerning.

Dhalsim will be tough to adapt. His origins in stereotypes aside, his power set is incredibly difficult to make cool in live-action fight scenes. Whether the stretching abilities will be ignored, played more for laughs, or taken too seriously remains to be seen. But for certain, bringing this character along for the ride, played by Indian actor and martial artist Vidyut Jammwal, will be a fascinating and fearful moment for fans such as myself.

4 Cammy

Will She Be Done Justice?

The history of video games is littered with female characters who were mostly present to be sex symbols. However, Cammy is a character who, despite beginning that way, has evolved past those origins to be a fully-fledged character in her own right. Through Killer Bee, her darker origin, and modern motivations, Cammy is a fighter with a lot more to her nowadays.

However, will the Street Fighter movie understand that? We can’t know yet. We saw her in the trailer, mostly firing a bazooka and talking down to Chun-Li about her thighs. Actor Mel Jarnson, having already appeared in the 2021 Mortal Kombat film, has more experience in this genre than others. But personally, I’m a little worried after seeing her in the recent “Killer Whale” film, where I wasn’t quite so sure about her acting. Will she fare better in Street Fighter, taking on this iconic role? That remains to be seen.

3 Guile

Another Wrestler Leaping To Hollywood

Many wrestlers from history, including The Rock and Hulk Hogan, have leaped across from the WWE to Hollywood. Cody Rhodes, the current WWE Champion, had only begun that journey last year, with a slightly comedic bit role in The Naked Gun alongside Liam Neeson. Now, he’s taking on a much more important part, replacing Jean-Claude Van Damme as the live-action version of Guile.

From the trailer, it appears as if Guile’s scary persona and aggressive style will be used somewhat comedically in the new film. This sounds like a great idea in theory, but given Rhodes has only appeared in one film before, and not in a big role, this is a challenge for him. I’m really hoping it works out well, but I think I share the fears of many fans that this character and the bold direction the filmmakers are taking him could fall flat.

2 Ken Masters

Does He Have Main Character Energy?

While Ryu looks almost flawlessly translated to the big screen in the trailer for Street Fighter, the other protagonist is a little less certain. Ken Masters is another great Street Fighter character, and young star Noah Centineo might be taking him on at the right time to make a big splash. However, with little action experience under his belt, and his last adapted role coming in the form of the underwhelming Atom Smasher in Black Adam, there are plenty of doubts circling this character.

My early memories of Centineo in older Netflix movies like The Perfect Date aren’t favourable. However, in newer roles like his starring one on The Recruit, he’s really started to win me over. I’m excited to see him get a big-time Hollywood shot in Street Fighter, and the washed-up persona of his Ken Masters is promising. His comedic timing looks great also, especially in his brief fight with Ryu we see in the trailer. Masters seems to be a hero that will take a lot of punches and just keep getting up again, making him primed to break out, as long as Centineo fits.

1 M. Bison

A Terrifying Presence With Unusual Casting

This one is definitely a case of having to wait and see how it plays out. M. Bison has previously been played by Raul Julia, whose over-the-top performance in the 1994 film was one of the highlights of that attempt at bringing Street Fighter to the big screen. However, fans are worried that David Dastmalchian, used to big-screen comedic roles in The Suicide Squad and Ant-Man, might not fit the character that well, or feel like a very believable street fighter.

M. Bison isn’t supposed to be the most muscular fighter on the roster. But in a film filled with huge stars taking on larger-than-life characters, whatever balance they aim for with M. Bison will be especially tricky to pull off. Dastmalchian is a great actor. I loved seeing him take on more serious roles like in Late Night With The Devil, but I’m still as unsure as many fans are about him as one of the potential big bads in the film, if rumours are anything to go by regarding the plot.