The new Street Fighter movie has only been in theaters for a few days, but the question of a second round is already on the table. Director Kitao Sakurai has addressed the chances of a sequel to the Capcom adaptation, and while he is clearly keen to return, nothing has been confirmed yet.
Speaking with ScreenRant in an exclusive interview published last Saturday (October 17th), Sakurai said the team would love to keep telling the story, but that the decision will come down to how audiences respond.
"We all had such an amazing time making this movie, and the world of Street Fighter already has so much history behind it. It's 40 years. It's one of the most iconic franchises ever. It would be a shame to not continue telling the story. Obviously, we would love to do that, but we just have to see how people receive it and if fans support it. We'll see, but we would love to," Sakurai said.
Capcom's Fighting Game Legacy On The Big Screen
Sakurai's point about history is a fair one. Capcom's Street Fighter series has been around since the original arcade game in the late 1980s, and Street Fighter II went on to become one of the most influential games ever made, effectively kickstarting the competitive fighting game scene. The series is still going strong today with Street Fighter 6, which has kept the franchise at the center of the fighting game community.
The movie leans heavily into that legacy. It brings in a huge chunk of the series' roster, with Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, and Callina Liang as Chun-Li leading the cast. They are joined by fan favorites including Guile, Blanka, Akuma, M. Bison, Dhalsim, Zangief, E. Honda, Vega, Balrog, Cammy, and Dan Hibiki, which gives a potential sequel plenty of characters to build on. Capcom is also directly involved, with the film presented by Paramount Pictures and Legendary Pictures in association with the publisher.
How The Movie Is Performing
On the business side, Street Fighter opened at number one in North America with around $31 million from 3,575 theaters, according to studio estimates. It added $20.1 million from international markets for a global debut of roughly $51 million. It has been reported that the film carries an $82 million production budget, and that Paramount had been expecting a domestic opening in the mid-$30 million range, so the debut landed a little under projections.
Reception has been split. The movie sat at a 41% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing, while its audience score is much higher, sitting around 80%. It has also been reported that audiences gave it a B- CinemaScore. That gap between critics and fans is exactly why Sakurai's comment about fan support matters so much here.
A Sequel Is Not Confirmed
It is important to be clear that no sequel has been announced. Neither Capcom, Legendary, nor Paramount has said anything official about a follow-up, and Sakurai's comments are about what he would like to do rather than anything in active development. How the movie holds up over its next few weekends, both in North America and overseas, will likely play a big part in any decision.
The film itself does leave the door open. As we covered in our breakdown of the Street Fighter post-credits scene, the movie ends with a tease that sets up a possible sequel, so the story groundwork is already in place if the studios decide to move forward. We will not spoil it here, but fans who have seen it will know there is plenty left to explore.
For Capcom, a successful film franchise would be another big win alongside its other screen adaptations. The publisher has already seen its Resident Evil series return to theaters this year, and a healthy Street Fighter film series would give the fighting game franchise another way to reach new fans ahead of its 40th anniversary.
Would a Street Fighter movie sequel get you more excited to jump into Street Fighter 6, or do you prefer to keep your fighting game fandom separate from the films?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.