‘Street Fighter’ Cast Reveals What They Want to See in ‘Street Fighter 2’

The Street Fighter lore has expanded far beyond its arcade roots, spawning comic books, animated films, web series, and three live-action features. The latest cinematic entry, directed by Kitao Sakurai, delivers a visually faithful franchise adaptation while successfully fleshing out the backstories of its most iconic characters. Sakurai made the right call by centering the narrative on Ryu and Ken’s redemptive arcs, even as the plot touches on the motivations of other fighters, like Dan and Chun-Li. When asked about sequel prospects, the cast mused on what they want to see in a follow-up movie.

Speaking with MovieWeb, Callina Liang said she wanted the core characters to reunite in the sequel. The film centered on a core trio that propelled the story: Chun-Li (Liang), Ryu (Andrew Koji), and Ken (Noah Centineo). “As long as we can continue to tell the story of these characters and be in this world and develop it, and there’s so much to mine and explore more of Ryu, Ken, and Chun-Li,” Koji added.

Centineo also hopes to see a more mature Ken in a potential sequel, with his arc separating from Ryu’s and their rivalry. “I’d love for Ken to kind of come out of this like F-boy phase, if you will, or like attempted F-boy phase, because he doesn’t really, and like, meet Eliza, or maybe we explore that pathway a little bit too,” he said.

Eliza first appeared in Street Fighter II as Ken’s long-time girlfriend, and she marries him during the prologue of Ken’s Arcade Mode story. Guile is also married to Eliza’s older sister, Julia. Ken and Eliza’s marital arc runs throughout the Street Fighter franchise, fleshed out in game cutscenes and endings, and in the animated movies.

Despite its attempts to adapt as much canon lore as possible, the new live-action Street Fighter movie omitted one character’s tragic history: Dan Hibiki (Andrew Schultz) primarily served as Ken’s sidekick, far removed from his depiction in the video games as a joke character driven by revenge. Sagat accidentally killed Dan’s father, Go Hibiki, fueling Dan’s desire to train under Gouken, Ryu and Ken’s mentor. Gouken expelled Dan from the dojo after realizing the latter’s motivation.

“The reason Dan develops his Saikyo style is obviously just Gouken’s teaching, but he doesn’t refine it, right? That’s why his fireball doesn’t go as far,” Schultz said. “He gets kicked out before he gets the ultimate power… But important to note that Dan’s dad took Sagat’s eye, and then Sagat got a little bitter about it. And Dan still wants that [payback]. It’s up to the moviegoers if we want to see Dan get the revenge, or if that’s the best thing for Dan to get.”

Sakurai confirmed plans to bring in Sagat in a potential sequel after teasing him in Street Fighter‘s post-credits scene. That depends on the movie’s box office prospects, which remain uncertain after its underwhelming opening.