Not every character in the Street Fighter franchise can kick serious butt. One character in particular brings the laughs more than the beatdowns, and he is set to join the upcoming Street Fighter film.
There are few fighting game series as storied and long-running as Street Fighter. Though the first installment of the series came out in 1987, the franchise didn't kick off in earnest until 1991's Street Fighter II, which became a bona fide phenomenon. Since that sequel took the world by storm, there have been so many installments that it can be hard to keep count. Throw in compilations, spinoff games, and crossover fighters, and you've got a veritable treasure trove of gaming glory. In addition to all the games over the decades, Street Fighter has also been adapted into various animated films, television shows, live-action movies, and comic books. Now, with Legendary Entertainment's upcoming Street Fighter film adaptation picking up steam, multiple roles are being cast, and a major comedic character is seemingly joining the fun.
The Cast Of The Street Fighter Movie Continues To Grow With The Reported Casting Of Balrog
The cast of the upcoming Street Fighter reboot movie continues to grow, as the roster grows with an actor reportedly set to play Balrog.
Deadline is reporting that stand-up comedian Andrew Schulz is joining the cast of Street Fighter and that he is going to play the lovably hateable Dan Hibiki. Schulz joins the already-announced cast of Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Roman Reigns as Akuma, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Orville Peck as Vega, and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson as Balrog. Honestly, it is a truly bonkers list of famous names to see attached to a project that seemingly doesn't have a script (that we know of) or release date, despite starting production in August.
Andrew Schulz Is Joining Legendary Entertainment's Street Fighter Film Adaptation As Dan Hibiki
Schulz has been a known quantity in stand-up circles for about two decades now, but he really leaped onto the national scene over the past decade thanks to numerous appearances on television shows and podcasts. Showing up as himself on series like Guy Code and Big Morning Buzz Live led to Schulz dipping his toes into acting on series like IFC's Benders and Amazon Prime Video's Sneaky Pete. After his four-part 2020 stand-up special Schulz Saves America hit Netflix, the burgeoning actor managed to make several acting appearances in films like the White Men Can't Jump remake, You People, and The Thicket.
Joining Street Fighter as Dan (a comic relief fighter with little-to-no power whatsoever) will certainly be Schulz's most prominent acting role to date, but it is hard to know what to make of the film overall at the moment. The cast list reads like a fever dream, plot details are being kept under wraps, and there doesn't seem to be a distribution partner at the moment after Sony Pictures dropped the film from their schedule earlier this year. Kitao Sakurai is set to direct the picture, and he's best known for his work on The Eric Andre Show and the Twisted Metal adaptation series. Sakurai also directed the 2021 Netflix film Bad Trip.
Will Street Fighter be a success? Or will it simply follow in the footsteps of 1994's Street Fighter film (a somewhat amusing disaster) and 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (an unbearably bad trainwreck)? Who knows?
Street Fighter is one of the most iconic names in gaming's fighting genre. The series began in 1987 and went on to become a powerful force in arcade gaming for many years.
The Street Fighter franchise transitioned well onto consoles and is still going strong today.
Source: Deadline