Legendary Entertainment’s upcoming feature film adaptation of “Street Fighter,” the iconic video game franchise that has sold over 55 million units, will be directed by Emmy nominee Kitao Sakurai, the company announced on Wednesday.
The film is being co-developed and co-produced alongside Capcom, the video game developer and publisher behind the franchise. “Street Fighter” was previously adapted into a live-action film in 1994 with a cast that included Jean-Claude Van Damme, Ming Na Wen and Raul Julia. It was a commercial success despite being a critical failure.
The History of “Street Fighter”
The first “Street Fighter” game was released in arcades in 1987 and has sold over 49 million units worldwide, becoming one of the most well-known and highest-grossing video game franchises of all time. It featured two playable characters, Ryu and Ken, who traveled the world fighting other martial artists in a tournament. Despite its limited gameplay mechanics, the game was a hit and spawned numerous sequels and spin-offs.
“Street Fighter II” was released in 1991 and is widely regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time. It introduced a cast of eight playable characters, each with their own unique moves and abilities. Players could also perform special moves and combos, which added a new level of depth to the gameplay. “Street Fighter II” was a commercial success and paved the way for other fighting game franchises like “Mortal Kombat” and “Tekken.”
Since then, Capcom has released several more “Street Fighter” games, including “Street Fighter III,” “Street Fighter IV” and “Street Fighter V.” Each new installment introduces new characters, gameplay mechanics and storylines while retaining the core fighting gameplay that fans love.
“Street Fighter 6,” the latest game in the storied franchise, was released in June 2023 to critical acclaim, and won the award for Best Fighting Game at the 2023 Game Awards.
Sakurai is a prolific director, writer and producer. He both wrote and directed “Bad Trip,” the Netflix comedy starring Eric Andre, Tiffany Haddish and Lil Rel Howery. He also both directed and executive produced Adult Swim’s “The Eric Andre Show,” in addition to directing Hulu’s “Dave.” He also serves as an executive producer on the second season of “Beef” for Netflix and A24 and directed the pilot and several episodes of the upcoming Amazon Prime Video series “Butterfly” starring Daniel Dae Kim.
Kitao Sakurai is represented by UTA and 3 Arts.
