Original STREET FIGHTER Directors Explain Why They Walked Away From It and How They Were Preparing

Before their next horror movie Bring Her Back hits screens, Talk to Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou are opening up about the project that they signed on for and then walked away from… Street Fighter.

After blowing up in 2022 with their breakout horror hit Talk to Me, the Australian filmmaking duo jumped on board a live-action adaptation of Street Fighter, one of the most iconic fighting franchises in video game history.

But now, they’ve revealed why they stepped away, and what kind of vision they were developing before the timing fell apart. Michael Philippou said:

“We were having so much fun developing it. I was traveling around Thailand, looking for the real Sagat, going to muay thai camps, training with people while writing. We had ideas. We had a solid outline.

“We were developing the fight sequences. We can’t say too much as to what they were. It was just a scheduling thing. The timing just didn’t line up, but we love Legendary, and they’re still going ahead with it, so we’re excited to watch it.”

It’s clear that the Philippous weren’t just casually thinking about directing Street Fighter, they were diving in, training, researching, and crafting something that felt grounded and culturally connected. The kind of gritty, immersive energy that would make for a uniquely visceral Street Fighter movie.

But with their horror follow-up Bring Her Back now in production, the timing simply didn’t work. Legendary is still moving full ahead with Street Fighter, and some big names are reportedly circling the cast.

According to recent reports, Jason Momoa, WWE’s Roman Reigns, Noah Centineo, and Bullet Train’s Andrew Koji are in talks to join the film. Nothing official has dropped yet, but Reigns is rumored to be playing Akuma, Koji would be a sharp choice for Ryu, Centineo seems like a natural Ken, and Momoa he could play Blanka.

With the Philippous out, the directing reins have passed to Kitao Sakurai, known for his chaotic comedy chops on The Eric Andre Show and his work on the video game-adjacent Twisted Metal series for Peacock.

This will be Hollywood’s third swing at the Capcom classic. The 1994 film starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia was critically savaged but has earned cult status over the years. The 2009 film Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li, on the other hand, I don’t know anyone who liked it.

Had the Philippou brothers stayed on, it sounds like we might’ve gotten a more grounded, fight-first approach rooted in authenticity and martial arts culture. Instead, the movie is headed in a new direction, and we’ll have to wait and see how that turns out.