Street Fighter’s 2026 Reboot Gets Glowing Early Review From Ken Actor With Tease Of “100s Of Easter Eggs”

Noah Centineo has some major early praise for the new Street FIghter movie.

Acting as a reboot of the adaptation branch of the hit fighting game franchise, Centineo co-leads the new film as Ken Masters, a former boxing star who finds himself recruited by Callina Liang’s Chun-Li to take part in the eponymous tournament. The stakes quickly rise as Street Fighter not only sees Ken forced to confront his past demons surrounding his former best friend, Andrew Koji’s Ryu, but also the world-threatening power of David Dastmalchian’s M. Bison.

With just under two months until the film hits theaters, Noah Centineo has offered a glowing early review for Street Fighter during a recent appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. The Ken actor began by recalling his experience with the 2026 reboot as being “f—in’ bats–t,” while also acknowledging that there is a chance “anyone can put their critic glasses on and rip something to shreds.”

Even still, Centineo raved about the new video game adaptation, praising it as being “so f—in’ fun and big,” as well as being a “big spectacle, tentpole, high-octane action film.” He further opined that audiences will be able to “tell we had a hell of a time making” the new Street Fighter movie, particularly as it “knows what it is” and aims to stay true to what fans of the source material love:

Noah Centineo: If you’re a fan of the game, I believe you’re going to recognize the hundreds of Easter eggs, and one-liners, and signature moves, and all the intricate details that Kitao [Sakurai] and every single actor worked and researched to make sure that we crammed and bookended it to have these Easter eggs.

Centineo went on to recall the first opportunity he had to see Street Fighter in full just prior to its final cut, being in the midst of shooting Netflix’s live-action Gundam adaptation, which had a lot of the same crew as the former, and made it a “really sick” family experience for the star. As the crew of his upcoming film gathered to watch the game adaptation, Centineo wasn’t the only one who loved the experience, but also that of the security guard hired by Paramount to monitor the digital key holding the screener of the film and prevent it from being redistributed.

Following the screening, and the erasure of the digital key, Centineo suddenly found “this f—in’ huge dude becom[ing] a five year old and tackl[ing] me into a wall,” with the Paramount security guard beaming about Street Fighter, “That was so f—in’ dope, man!“:

Noah Centineo: He was so amped, and he is the focus group. He grew up breathing this game, and he was over the moon. Now, listen, we’re all in the room, maybe he’s being kind, he’s being sweet, but he picked up on a lot of the stuff and was over the moon about it, and to be honest, that’s why we made the movie. We made the movie for him and anyone that’s a fan of the game, and so a fan of the game comes to us and says, “You did it, thank you for doing it”? Mission accomplished.

Though a key figure in its roster, Centineo is just one of a long list of stars bringing some of Street Fighter‘s most iconic characters to life in the new reboot. Others joining him for the film include Roman Reigns as fellow iconic villain Akuma, Cody Rhodes as Guile, 50 Cent as Blanka, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda and Mel Jarnson as Cammy.

While it’s understandable for a star to be enthused about the project they’re gearing up to promote, to hear Centineo isn’t the only one who has fallen in love with the Street Fighter reboot film is sure to come as an exciting update for fans of the franchise. Thus far, the video game series has largely had a dismal track record with its screen adaptations, as while the Jean-Claude Van Damme-led 1994 film is now a cult classic, it was largely reviled by critics and audiences alike, as were the 1995 animated series and second live-action movie, The Legend of Chun-Li.

Centineo’s tease that the new Street Fighter film is overflowing with Easter eggs is already proven truthful in the movie’s marketing. The official trailer for the 2026 reboot showcased both an effort to capture some of the campier elements of the Capcom series, and a recreation of some of the games’ iconic set pieces and character details, including the famous car-destruction bonus stage, the “Perfect!” sound effect and the various Hadokens.

As the film gears up for its October release, though, the question on many viewers’ minds is sure to be how well the Street Fighter reboot balances its Easter egg-heavy focus with one of introducing newcomers to the franchise. Though not critical darlings, the recent Mortal Kombat films have been generally better received for their mix of the two, while the animated Super Mario movies have seen increasingly mixed reviews for relying too heavily on nostalgia. If the new film stays relatively closer to its games than the 1994 movie, it should at least score a better reception, even potentially to the height of Centineo’s praise.

Release Date

October 16, 2026

Director

Kitao Sakurai

Writers

Dalan Musson

Cast

• 

  Noah Centineo

  Ken Masters

• 

• 

•