Street Fighter is a series of fighting games that have been around since 1987, even longer than its contemporaries like Mortal Kombat, whose first release was in 1992, and Tekken, whose first release was in 1994. Despite this, the series has never seen a successful live-action adaptation, and no worthwhile attempt has been made to make one after the disastrous 1994 attempt starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia.
Other attempts have been made since, such as 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li and the short-lived 2014 British web series Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, but neither were particularly noteworthy, especially since Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is not only universally hated by fans, but is almost universally regarded as one of the worst movies of all time. Perhaps it is because of these failed attempts that no one has dared to try again, which is a shame because the setting of Street Fighter has everything that is needed to make an action-packed and compelling live-action adaptation. The only things that are needed are a team, a producer, or, ideally director who understands the material. Thankfully that may not be as difficult to find as some may believe.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
While Street Fighter, at the outset, appears to be a little different from other fighting games, its plot is actually quite complex. While there is a central conflict, several different things happen at once that have little, if nothing, to do with each other. The main conflict of the series centers around the battle with the villainous crime organization Shadaloo, headed by the equally villainous eco-terrorist (not kidding) M. Bison. Though while the fight with Shadaloo and those that make up the organization serves as the central conflict for the series, and while the paths of most, if not all the major characters do tend to cross with the fight with Shadaloo, it is not the driving force of every single character’s story.
Series poster boy Ryu, for instance, is almost entirely motivated by a personal struggle that has nothing at all to do with Shadaloo. Finding the right balance between these coalescing plot lines would be a difficult but not impossible task for a live-action adaptation. However, it would need to be the first thing to be done before any good adaptation can see the light of day. After that, there are several other details that would need to be ironed out, but once a solid script is set in place, the rest should come easy.
Street Fighting Isn’t Actually a Requirement
Universal Pictures
Despite the series being called Street Fighter, there is very little actual street fighting done in the series, with most of the major confrontations taking place as part of a tournament, being part of the conflict with Shadaloo, or not taking place near any streets at all. In truth, the game’s title has very little to do with the actual plot, unlike, say, Mortal Kombat, which as part of its story, hosts an actual fighting tournament called “The Mortal Kombat Tournament.” This is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, but it does mean that there shouldn’t be any obligation to somehow live up to the series title.
Sure, a fight could take place on the streets, but not all fights need to, and there doesn’t need to be a deeper meaning behind the series title. After all, a title doesn’t need to mean anything. It can just be a clever title. This is one of the other things that producers will need to keep in mind when attempting to adapt Street Fighter, that some things within it are better off simply being left as they are and that there does not need to be a deeper meaning behind them or a reason for them to exist.
Who Should Be the Central Protagonist?
Capcom
The question of whom the central protagonist should be is really the first all-encompassing question that should be answered when attempting to adapt Street Fighter into anything, especially a live-action adaptation. It will be the vehicle by which the rest of the plot unfolds. To most casual fans, the answer to this question might seem obvious in the form of Ryu, who is on most, if not all, of the covers for the games. While this might seem like an obvious answer, Ryu’s story is largely a personal one and has almost nothing to do with the central conflict with Shadaloo or any of the other characters. Sure, he can be present for the fight with Shadaloo, but that is not the main reason he is there and is certainly not his reason for continuing to fight.
On the other hand, characters like Guile and Chun-Li have more of a direct connection to Shadaloo, as they are the ones who take the fight against the crime organization and whose plots directly tie in with them. The trick here is to pick one central character to focus on without neglecting the others. While they may be on the same side, they all have very different goals, which should be reflected in the story itself. Difficult, maybe, but it is not impossible to do.
