Street Fighter finally has a director.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Kitao Sakurai will direct Street Fighter, a live-action movie for Legendary Entertainment based on the classic video game from Capcom. Sakurai replaces Danny and Michael Philippou, who were in talks to direct before dropping out to work on Bring Her Back. Plot details are being kept under wraps.
The Emmy-nominated Sakurai is best known as a writer, director, and producer on The Eric Andre Show. Sakurai has directed two feature films: 2010’s Aardvark and 2021’s Bad Trip, with the latter starring comedian Eric Andre. Sakurai is an executive producer on the upcoming season of Netflix’s Beef.
First released as an arcade game by Capcom in 1987, Street Fighter is a competitive fighting game featuring one-on-one battles with martial artists. Memorable characters include Ryu, Ken Masters, Chun-Li, Guile, and the villainous M. Bison. The second game, 1991’s Street Fighter II, became one of the best-selling arcade games. The Street Fighter franchise has an estimated gross of $14 billion.
Sony will release the live-action Street Fighter in theaters on March 20, 2026.
