It wasn’t too long ago that the idea of anyone, and we mean anyone, attempting a live-action adaptation of a video game property would be met with immediate skepticism. After all, there are literal legions of movies and TV properties that have tried to capture what it would be like to be in those video game worlds, with mediocre or terrible results. However, things have finally turned a corner, potentially, via the movies starring Mario, Sonic, and Detective Pikachu and a TV series you know well in The Last of Us. But now, a new series might be entering that ring, Street Fighter.
Depending on how old you are, you might have had an immediate recoil reaction to hearing that news. After all, Street Fighter has had numerous adaptations in both live-action and animated mediums over the years. The animated takes, especially certain animated movies, are still highly regarded by fans. However, the live-action movies were seen as failures on numerous fronts. Yes, they indeed have some very memeable moments, but the movies as a whole were terrible and failed at the box office.
Yet, The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that Legendary Pictures has picked up the TV and movie rights to the fighting franchise from Capcom, which could lead to many things.
Currently, it’s not clear whether Legendary is shooting for a live-action or animated take on the franchise, but it’d be easier to guess them going the live-action route. But can they deliver the ‘feeling’ of what the series is? As in all things, it depends on who’s running things. There have been fan-made miniseries starring the Capcom characters that have done incredibly well, including having successful Kickstarters.
Plus, as previously named franchises show, if you do things the right way and respect the lore and the game worlds, you can create either a direct adaptation or a loose one with good results.
The fighting will be important here, as that’s what the franchise is built on. For example, if they did a movie and focused on the World Warrior tournament, which was the basis of the first few games, they could deliver incredible action while building up the characters during the downtime. Throwing in M. Bison and Akuma would be easy if they handled things properly.
Easily the biggest hurdle they’ll have to face is the casting. They need actors who can do the moves and help bring out the fighters’ styles. If they do that, they’ve already done better than the original live-action movie.