When Hollywood adapts a beloved video game franchise, one question inevitably follows: will it actually look like the game? That’s especially true for Street Fighter, where signature attacks like the Hadouken, Sonic Boom, and M. Bison’s Psycho Crusher are just as iconic as the characters themselves. Pulling those moves off in live action has always been easier said than done, leaving fans wondering how faithful the new film will be.
ComicBook recently caught up with David Dastmalchian, who will play M. Bison in Legendary’s upcoming Street Fighter movie, at San Diego Comic-Con. After we confirmed his surprisingly soft hands, Dastmalchian teased director Kitao Sakurai’s approach to bringing the legendary fighting game to the big screen, promising that the production is pushing practical filmmaking further than fans might expect.
“Kitao (Sakurai, the director) loves this game so much. All of us do,” Dastmalchian told ComicBook. “But the passion that he put into it, and his insistence on trying to find a way for the first time to practically, not with special effects, but practically pull off everyone’s special moves as much as is possible. I mean, obviously we’re talking about bringing something to life that is very hard to do with a physical body, stunt people involved, rigging things. I believe when all is said and done, people will be watching this film and for the first time see practically brought to life the Psycho Crusher on celluloid.”
Casting has dominated much of the conversation surrounding Street Fighter, but faithfully translating the series’ signature attacks may be an even bigger hurdle. For decades, filmmakers have relied heavily on CGI whenever characters started throwing fireballs or flying across the screen. Dastmalchian’s comments suggest Sakurai is taking a different approach by leaning on stunt work, practical effects, and camera tricks wherever possible before turning to digital effects.
That doesn’t mean audiences won’t see visual enhancements, but it does suggest the production wants these moves to have real physical weight instead of feeling entirely computer-generated. If that approach works, it could help separate Street Fighter from previous video game adaptations that struggled to balance realism with the over-the-top action fans expect.
There’s a reason Dastmalchian singled out the Psycho Crusher. M. Bison’s signature attack is one of the franchise’s defining moves, and one of the hardest to imagine translating convincingly into live action. Hearing the actor behind Bison promise that Sakurai is treating those moments as a creative challenge instead of simply handing them over to a visual effects team is exactly the kind of detail longtime fans want to hear.
It’s also hard not to appreciate how much enthusiasm David brings to the role. Watch the entire interview and you’ll notice, aside from his soft hands, he’s lighting up while talking about stunt rigs and practical filmmaking (and Dastmalchian’s own books). That excitement comes through in the interview, and if it reflects the energy behind the production, Street Fighter may be aiming for something fans have wanted for decades: a movie that fights like the games.
What special move are you most excited to see brought to life in Street Fighter? Let us know in the comments below.
