Candian actress Callina Liang may be spending a lot of time in the gym moving forward, as she’s been recruited to play Chun-Li in Legendary’s upcoming live action adaptation of Street Fighter, Deadline reports.
While plot details are still very much under wraps, sources say that the Presence star has landed the lead female role in the upcoming flick.
She’ll join a cast that also includes Minecraft star Jason Momoa as Brazilian brawler Blanka and wrestler Roman Reigns as the iconic Akuma. British martial artist Andrew Koji is also on deck to play Ryu. How are you feeling about this cast?
Liang will be added to a long line of actresses who’ve portrayed the thunder-thighed Interpol operative, including Ming-Na Wen in the infamous 1994 adaptation and Smallville’s Kristin Kreuk.
Ming-Na Wen’s interpretation of the character has gone viral in recent years, largely due to one particular scene starring the late great Raul Julia as villain M. Bison:
Of course, Chun-Li has been a mainstay of Capcom’s fighting game franchise ever since she was introduced in Street Fighter 2, and is perhaps best known for her bright blue qipao, space buns, and spiked bracelets. She’s also fairly well renowned for never skipping leg day, shall we say.
Liang, who’s currently based in London, certainly looks the part – and is capable of speaking both English and Mandarin fluently, which could very well be an essential aspect of the part. Much of the early online reaction has been enthusiastic about the casting choice, which is a good start.
Unfortunately, as alluded to earlier, we don’t know a lot about the movie yet. Bad Trip’s Kitao Sakurai has been recruited to direct the movie, but we’re still waiting for a more general overview of the plot.