Roman Reigns Debuts His ‘Street Fighter’ Transformation in Fresh Sneak Peek For The Movie
Roman Reigns has given fans their first real look at his version of Akuma in the upcoming Street Fighter movie.
The WWE star posted an image of himself in full costume on December 11, sharing a frame taken from the film’s first trailer, which debuted during The Game Awards. The photo quickly spread across social media, with many fans reacting to how intense and faithful the design is.
.@Street_Fighter ☝🏽 pic.twitter.com/uRFGccgqQS
— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) December 12, 2025
In the shot, Reigns appears with the familiar details fans know from the games: dark hair shaped into long, sharp spikes, glowing red eyes, and the classic beads and rope around his neck. His outfit includes a torn gi marked with kanji on the back.
The picture shows him with a very harsh and powerful look, which matches the character’s reputation as one of the strongest fighters in the series. Many fans online have said that Reigns fits the role far better than they expected.
PUSH START. Here’s a sneak peek of #StreetFighterMovie, hitting theaters everywhere October 16, 2026. pic.twitter.com/6GLI0GnXIB
— Street Fighter (@StreetFighter) December 12, 2025
The film is being directed by Kitao Sakurai, with the script written by Dalan Musson. This new version is a full reboot of the live-action movie series based on the Capcom franchise.
The cast brings together a wide mix of actors, including Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Andrew Schulz, Eric André, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, and Jason Momoa.
The project has been in development since Legendary Entertainment secured the rights to the franchise in April 2023. Capcom is also helping produce the film. The movie went through some early changes behind the scenes. Danny and Michael Philippou were first hired to direct but later left the project.
Sakurai became the director afterward. Casting moved forward earlier this year, and the full lineup was confirmed by summer. Filming took place between August and November.
Paramount Pictures plans to release the movie in the United States on October 16, 2026.
The story is set in 1993 and focuses on Ryu and Ken as they return to the fighting world after Chun-Li brings them into the next World Warrior Tournament. According to Paramount, the tournament hides a bigger danger behind it. The studio described the plot with the line, “And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!”
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