The New Street Fighter Trailer Looks Like Video Game Perfection

It is a truth universally acknowledged that video game movies just aren’t very good. And yet, it looks like we might be getting two halfway-decent ones this year. The first is the Karl Urban-starring Mortal Kombat II, the sequel to 2021’s underwhelming Mortal Kombat. The second is a live-action Street Fighter, based on the other great fighting game franchise. (Both of the movies made my list of 2026’s most anticipated movies.)

There was, of course, an infamous live-action Street Fighter movie released in 1994 starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ming-Na Wen, and Raúl Juliá in his final theatrical performance. But this latest Street Fighter really looks like it’s wholeheartedly embracing the camp and aesthetic of the video games; there’s even some car smashing for good measure. Also, it has packed cast: Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, and Jason Momoa as Blanka — and every single one of them looks to be in on the joke in this new trailer, especially Centineo who looks perfect as a washed up, karaoke-singing Ken.

As for the actual fighting, I saw one commenter compare it to Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim movie, which strikes me as pretty accurate and frankly, bodes well. The Street Fighter games have always been over-the-top, and the more the movie channels that, the better. So please, give me all the video game-realistic Hadoukens and Sonic Booms. Listen, I’m not expecting anything life-changing or earth-shattering, but if it puts a big, cheesy grin on my face, then I’ll consider it time well-spent.

Street Fighter arrives in theaters on October 16, 2026.