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Callina Liang Steals the Spotlight at the ‘Street Fighter’ Premiere Just Days Before Her Chun-Li Debut

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Every video game adaptation lives or dies on how well it handles its most iconic characters, and in the world of ‘Street Fighter’, few names carry more weight than Chun-Li. For Callina Liang, stepping into those famous boots has meant months of training, a busy press tour, and an enormous amount of fan expectation.

Chun-Li first appeared in ‘Street Fighter II: The World Warrior’ as one of gaming’s earliest playable female fighters, an Interpol agent hunting the criminal organization Shadaloo and its leader, M. Bison. The character has made it to the big screen before, with Ming-Na Wen playing her in the 1994 movie and Kristin Kreuk leading ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li’ in 2009.

Liang’s latest moment arrived on Monday, October 12, when Paramount hosted the Los Angeles premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. She posed alongside co-stars Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, wearing a cream-embellished two-piece set, in front of the film’s backdrop featuring Capcom and Legendary branding.

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The trio wasn’t the only familiar faces on the carpet. Other cast members in attendance included Jason Momoa, Orville Peck and 50 Cent, turning the evening into a full showcase for the ensemble.

For Liang, the premiere caps a remarkable rise. The Canadian actress broke out in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’, which premiered at Sundance in January 2024, and her credits also include ‘Bad Genius’, ‘Tell Me Everything’ and ‘Foundation’.

Deadline broke the news of her casting in June 2025, and ‘Street Fighter’ marks her first foray into action filmmaking. It’s a huge leap, and she’s spent much of the past year proving she’s ready for it.

Liang’s preparation has become something of a talking point in its own right. In an interview with Empire, she explained that because Chun-Li relies so heavily on kicks, she trained in Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Wushu for 2 hours every day while overhauling her diet.

The actress said she ate 12 eggs a day during her bulking phase and needed a meal every 2 hours, admitting she sometimes felt close to throwing up. By the end of filming, she said each of her thighs had grown 6.5 centimeters.

The work wasn’t purely physical, either. Liang also told Empire she downloaded every version of ‘Street Fighter’ onto a PS5 and recorded Chun-Li’s moves in slow motion on her phone, so she could replay and study exactly how the character fights.

That dedication matters because Chun-Li sits at the heart of the plot. Set in 1993, the film follows estranged fighters Ryu, played by Koji, and Ken Masters, played by Centineo, who are pulled back into combat when Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.

Behind that tournament lies a deadly conspiracy that pits the old rivals against each other and their past. In other words, Chun-Li is the catalyst for everything, putting Liang in many of the movie’s biggest moments.

The Los Angeles premiere is just the latest stop on a busy promotional run. Earlier this month, Liang joined Centineo, Momoa, Koji and Olivier Richters for a photocall on Leake Street in London, and she previously appeared at a Los Angeles press event beside a full display of Chun-Li’s signature blue costume.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film also features Roman Reigns as Akuma, Jason Momoa as Blanka and Cody Rhodes as Guile. Fans won’t have to wait much longer to see whether all that preparation pays off, as ‘Street Fighter’ hits theaters on October 16.

Do you think Callina Liang will deliver an iconic live-action portrayal of Chun-Li in Street Fighter?

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