If Lisa is known for her thick thighs, then Chun-Li truly has muscular legs. Callina Liang, who plays Chun-Li in the new Street Fighter film, told Empire magazine that she bought every Street Fighter game released on the PS5 platform and recorded Chun-Li's moves from each version to ensure her martial arts skills matched the game as closely as possible:
"I downloaded every Street Fighter game onto my PS5, recorded Chun-Li's fighting moves on my phone, and played them back in slow motion to study them anytime, anywhere."
Her key takeaway from the training was: "Chun-Li's character relies entirely on leg techniques, so I underwent extensive Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Wushu training with my coach, practicing two hours a day, which significantly strengthened my leg power."
"My diet also changed significantly. To build muscle, I ate 12 eggs a day and had meals every two hours; I was eating until I nearly vomited," Liang said. "But the muscle gain was effective. After filming Street Fighter, my thigh circumference increased by 6.5 centimeters."
Noah Centineo, who plays Ken in Street Fighter, stated that they trained together, including Liang and Andrew Koji, who plays Ryu:
"I trained with Andrew and Liang six days a week for six consecutive weeks. I really wanted to prove myself, and everyone felt the same way. Since none of us had played such roles before, this film presented us with unprecedented challenges, and we felt responsible for delivering a great performance."
Andrew Koji, who plays Ryu, shyly admitted that he played Street Fighter as a child but only knew how to mash buttons. As an Asian actor, he has a particular fondness for Ryu because the character resembles him the most.
Although he admits to being bad at the games, Koji believes his real-life combat skills surpass those of typical gamers. He considers Ryu's moves to be derived from Karate, so he diligently studied Shotokan Karate, which emphasizes special techniques, and also supplemented his training with Judo and other martial arts. He is confident in bringing Ryu's fighting style to the big screen.
The film is scheduled for release on October 16th, marking Capcom's second game adaptation this year. Next month, players and moviegoers will welcome Zack Cregger's Resident Evil, which differs from previous Resident Evil films by featuring original characters and severing ties with earlier installments, focusing on a purer horror survival experience.
