In new 'Street Fighter' trailer, stakes are high and 'irreverent'

LAS VEGAS – One might think with two action flicks based on popular fighting video games, both showing up at the same entertainment convention, there might be at least a little competition. But for "Street Fighter" director Kitao Sakurai, it's all love between his crew and the "Mortal Kombat II" folks.

"I want 'Mortal Kombat' to work, and I want that tone to be different than ours and for those two tones to coexist in the world, because that's what the games did," Sakurai tells USA TODAY at CinemaCon, the convention for movie studios and theater owners. "As a '90s kid, you understand the 'Mortal Kombat' camp and the 'Street Fighter' camp. It's fun that they're different."

"Mortal Kombat II" fights first, in theaters May 8, followed by "Street Fighter" on Oct. 16. Sakurai premiered his new trailer at CinemaCon, with fresh footage that showed plenty of epic kicks, punches and cool moves – as well as a sense of humor – but also showcased the film's emotional story line. Set in 1993, the movie centers on estranged friends Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), who are recruited by the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) to face the world's roughest, toughest street fighters – and possibly each other – in a brutal tournament.

"I like making stories about friendship, and for me, friendship is very high stakes," Sakurai says. "It was important for me to have this very strong through line of the mending of this relationship. It is a tournament movie, but it's also not a tournament movie. It's a much deeper story than that."

Sakurai wanted the movie to feel as crazy and "irreverent" as the "Street Fighter" game, with physical action that feels more real and "tactile" than a lot of digital filmmaking wizardry. Stylistically, he was influenced by things he grew up with, from Jackie Chan and Jet Li movies to the Three Stooges and anime.

One aspect the filmmaker acknowledges he was "very nervous" about, though, was filling out a huge two-fisted supporting cast with performers from all corners of sports and entertainment. Superhero movie star Jason Momoa shares screen time with pro wrestlers Cody Rhodes and Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa'i, MMA fighter Alexander Volkanovski, rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and country singer Orville Peck.

"Everybody that was in this movie, they grew up on this game and have such passionate relationships with these characters that they're representing," Sakurai says. "There was no egos or people with a bad attitude. Everybody's just really showing up in the best way. That kind of alchemy created something that's very special and beautiful."