‘Street Fighter’ Director Kitao Sakurai On His Wild Cast, Kinky M. Bison & Embracing The Absurd — The Discourse Podcast

sdsdsdHow do you turn one of the most beloved fighting games of all time into a movie without losing everything that makes it gloriously ridiculous?

On this episode of The Discourse Podcast, director Kitao Sakurai (“The Eric Andre Show,” “Bad Trip”) joins us to discuss his gonzo approach to “Street Fighter,” assembling a cast that includes Jason Momoa, Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Callina Liang, David Dastmalchian, 50 Cent, Eric André, Cody Rhodes, Roman Reigns, and Orville Peck.

Sakurai explains why he wanted to make something that felt like “exactly what Hollywood isn’t doing,” how professional wrestlers, rappers, and comedians became essential to his vision, and why he refused to make another video game adaptation embarrassed by its source material.

He also gets into the surprisingly kinky psychology behind Dastmalchian’s M. Bison, the film’s hand-drawn anime flashbacks, the challenge of staging inventive fight sequences, and why historical accuracy goes out the window when your movie features a green guy who shoots electricity.

“We’re really trying to honor it, but also have fun with it,” Sakurai says. And judging by his approach, he means it.

“Street Fighter” hits theaters October 16.

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