Street Fighter movie director Kitao Sakurai has shared new insights into the recently released video game movie, including how he intentionally wanted it to go for a “gonzo” style of over-the-top action and silliness as opposed to being gritty and grounded.
“There’s a silliness to it, and there’s an absurdity to the world and the characters and how they interact. [Producer] Cale Boyter at Legendary really held the torch for this vision of Street Fighter that had a gonzo energy to it. I also love comedy and craziness and energy,” he told The Hollywood Reporter.
Also in the interview, Sakurai discussed how his work on The Eric Andre Show informed his filmmaking sensibilities for Street Fighter. He said he learned from that show that not every minute needs to be hilarious, but “every minute needs to be interesting.”
“So there can be elements that are so ridiculous they might not track narratively or make sense conceptually, but because they’re part of an overall energy and feeling, they fit. So I kept that in mind when I was developing this film,” he said.
Also in the interview, Sakurai talked about how Street Fighter’s original movie directors, the Philippou brothers, ended up appearing in cameo roles. He said he personally invited them to appear in the movie as two people … fighting in the street.
Sakurai said he wanted the Australian brothers to be in the movie as a means to communicate how, “There’s no bad blood. We’re all part of the same family.”
“There was no animosity, and it’s all love,” Sakurai said.
The Street Fighter movie hit theaters on October 16, and it’s made more than $55 million worldwide so far, and that’s not so great. The movie stars Noah Centineo as Ken, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Andrew Koji as Ryu, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Roman Reigns as Akuma, and David Dastmalchian as M. Bison.