Street Fighter’s most praised director reveals Hollywood passed on a darker Game Of Thrones-style reboot

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Joey Ansah, who acted in, wrote, directed, and designed the action for the new Street Fighter movie, recently spoke with TopMob about the film, as well as a darker, unproduced TV series he developed for the franchise.

Joey Ansah is finishing up interviews for his new movie, The Running Man. He played one of the hunters chasing Glenn Powell in this updated version of the classic Stephen King story from the 1980s.

Kwame Ansah has worked on many popular Hollywood films, such as Mission Impossible: Fallout, The Old Guard on Netflix, and The Bourne Ultimatum.

He also created Street Fighter: Assassin’s Fist, a 13-part series exploring the connections between Ryu, Ken, their teacher Gouken, and Akuma. Released in 2014, the show was a big success with fans and is still considered one of the most accurate adaptations of the Street Fighter video game series.

It’s been a decade since Ansah’s original work came out, and now a new movie version is being released. This adaptation features some big stars, including Jason Momoa from Game of Thrones, wrestler Cody Rhodes, and rapper Fifty Cent.

The new movie, scheduled for release in October 2026, aims to capture the same look and feel as the 1994 Street Fighter II film. Early previews suggest it will be a fun, over-the-top action comedy with plenty of references to the original game, including a recreation of the famous bonus stage where Ken destroys a Lexus LS400.

Okay, so I’m checking out this new Street Fighter, and honestly, it’s…different. It’s going for a really silly, comedic vibe, and I can see that splitting the fanbase. I’m hoping it works out, but I kinda wish they’d gone with a more serious tone. Street Fighter’s story, even though it’s a little confusing at times, has some real weight to it, and I think a darker, grittier take would have felt more respectful to the whole series.

Assassin’s Fist director is not the target audience for the new Street Fighter movie

Ansah drew comparisons between the new Street Fighter movie trailer and recent video game adaptations like Sonic the Hedgehog, The Minecraft Movie, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He believes the film isn’t aimed at longtime Street Fighter fans who grew up with the original arcade games, but rather at attracting a new, younger audience to Street Fighter 6.

Considering my age, I consider myself one of the original Street Fighter fans. I was there when Street Fighter II first came out on the Super Nintendo and in arcades, and I was exactly the type of person who got caught up in the excitement. ‘Assassin’s Fist’ was a genuine tribute to Street Fighter, especially for those of us who grew up with the game and really understand what makes it special. You could see that love reflected in how well it was received.

Capcom seems to be aiming for this movie to be an advertisement for their new game, Street Fighter 6. They’re likely hoping to attract a younger audience – kids who enjoyed movies like Minecraft and Sonic – who may not have played the original games. The idea is that if these kids enjoy the movie’s fun, over-the-top style and characters, they’ll be interested in trying out the game itself.

As a long-time Street Fighter fan, I really agree with Ansah – I’ve always loved the darker, more serious tone of the older games, especially the Alpha series, and I think it’s great he wants to see that brought back. He’s also smart to stay open to how the actors will portray these iconic characters, and he’s particularly excited about Andrew Koji as Ryu, which is awesome to hear!

Street Fighter 6 has a noticeably different look and feel than older games like Street Fighter Alpha. While some past Street Fighter titles explored darker, more serious stories, the new game takes a different approach. Even characters have changed – take Blanka, for example. He used to be a wild, feral figure, but now he’s sporting a safari outfit and hat, a far cry from his appearance in the original Street Fighter II.

I understand what Capcom is trying to achieve with this. If I were making a Street Fighter movie, I’d approach it differently, but for promotional content tied to the game, this approach makes sense.

We could’ve had a Game of Thrones-level Street Fighter series, but Hollywood got in the way

Assassin’s Fist isn’t the only Street Fighter project Ansah has been involved with. He also directed and produced the 2010 short film, Street Fighter: Legacy, and the accompanying web series, Street Fighter: Resurrection.

He was also developing a second season of Assassin’s Fist, titled Street Fighter: World Warrior. This season would have featured the introduction of M. Bison, the series’ main villain and leader of a secret criminal organization, along with his iconic World Warrior martial arts tournament.

Apparently, Ansah has developed a detailed 120-page outline for the first two seasons of a potential Street Fighter sequel series. Season one would cover the events of the original Street Fighter I tournament, introducing characters like Geki and Gen. Season two would then focus on the World Warrior tournament led by Bison.

Despite initial plans, the follow-up series never moved forward. Ansah detailed the many problems and disagreements he faced with the studio and team, which ultimately led to its cancellation – a loss he considers the biggest disappointment of his life.

Honestly, it was brutal. The whole project just fell apart right at the beginning, and that really stung because I’d poured five years of my life into it. I did a ton of work – I’ve already got a pilot and a full screenplay written. It’s all done, really. And you know what? If it never gets made into a game, I’m going to release it somehow. Maybe just put the story treatment out there for anyone to read, or even work with Capcom and Udon to turn it into a graphic novel. I’m seriously considering both options.

Looking back, my biggest regret is not approaching Netflix or Amazon directly after Assassin’s Fist came out. We had a lot of views and positive reviews, and I believe we could have secured another season of hour-long episodes without needing a large budget if we’d bypassed the studio and gone straight to them.

Ansah said previous showrunners had very different ideas for the series than he and Capcom did for Street Fighter, and that difference ultimately didn’t work out. Adding to the problem, it took a long time to finalize licensing agreements between Capcom and the studios that would make the show, and eventually, the project fell apart.

Looking back, after making Assassin’s Fist, we should have committed to creating something with the smallest possible TV budget, but with me maintaining creative control. If it had been successful, we believed funding would follow, proving our ability. We were in a position to potentially move from Assassin’s Fist to a massive, Game of Thrones-level TV series.

Beyond that, Ansah is a huge Street Fighter fan and deeply committed to accurately portraying its world. He’s even written a full script for a separate show about Vega’s backstory, titled ‘Vega: Blood and Sand.’

According to Ansah’s plans, the story would have explored why Vega was so close to his mother and how he got his mask and claws from Geki. However, like his other ‘World Warrior’ ideas, it was never developed beyond the planning stage.

Creating ‘Assassin’s Fist’ was a hugely important achievement for me, and it’s incredibly rewarding to see fans still discovering and enjoying it after all these years. Knowing it’s had such a lasting impact is something I’ll always cherish. As for revisiting the ‘Street Fighter’ universe through writing or directing, I’m not sure what the future holds, but it’s definitely a possibility.

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2026-01-09 22:20