The Chun-Li Costume in ‘Street Fighter’ Was the Last One Finished, and It Nearly Didn’t Arrive in Time

Adapting a video game character whose silhouette is recognizable worldwide puts enormous pressure on a costume department. Get it wrong, and the entire performance is undermined before the actor throws a single kick. For Legendary’s live-action reboot, the Chun-Li costume became the single most scrutinized piece of the production.

The design details have been circulating for months through Callina Liang’s own social media. Set photos have shown the blue qipao-style outfit with spiked wrist cuffs and the character’s signature ox-horn hair buns, often torn, dirty, and paired with bruising and blood makeup from fight sequences.

The story behind that outfit turns out to be more complicated than fans realized. Liang credited costume designer Kym Barrett in an interview with Exclaim!, explaining that the team knew from day one they had to nail it, and that it was the last costume to come together out of every character on set.

The construction was piecemeal by design. Liang described 4 or 5 separate fittings and said the costume took a long time to reach them because Barrett sourced the fabric in one place, had it cut in another, and had the studs applied somewhere else entirely. The logistics were genuinely global. Liang said the costume traveled around Australia, or even the world, before arriving with the production.

Callina Liang for ‘STREET FIGHTER’ https://t.co/asoKl4xlKE

— Complex Pop Culture (@ComplexPop) October 21, 2026

When it finally came together, the effect was immediate. She described the final fitting as a moment where everything clicked, noting that it not only looked and felt amazing but allowed her to move and fight, and that it empowered her to the point where she truly felt like the character.

What has made the set images land with fans is their rawness. Liang captioned one photo beside a production trailer marked 3.CHUN-LI with a blunt note about not having time to photoshop, letting the unedited image speak for itself.

Callina Liang behind the scenes of ‘STREET FIGHTER’ 📷 https://t.co/Ou0o3MsNx7

— Complex (@Complex) October 16, 2026

That approach has continued through release. On October 16, a mirror selfie surfaced showing her in full costume with visible scrapes and grime on her arms, alongside looser candid shots from between takes.

Those marks weren’t decorative. According to Skydance, the film features 14 major fight sequences planned by second unit director and stunt coordinator Jon Valera and his team, with Chun-Li’s choreography drawing from Chinese martial arts.

Liang has been generous about crediting the people who made the hardest moves possible. She told Zero Nine Magazine that the spinning back kick, Chun-Li’s most classic move, was performed by stunt double Megan Hui, who began training for it 6 months before pre-production.

FIGHT! Watch the Official Trailer for Street Fighter, hitting theaters everywhere October 16. https://t.co/dzGuLba4Z0

— Street Fighter Movie (@Street_Fighter) April 16, 2026

For the spinning bird kick, a former Cirque du Soleil performer reportedly assisted with harnesses and rigs to keep a fighter airborne longer. Liang herself recalled fighting for 5 hours at a time against groups of stunt performers.

The physical transformation was extreme. Liang trained 2 hours a day across Taekwondo, Muay Thai and Wushu, following a bulking diet that included 12 eggs daily, with each thigh growing by 6.5 centimeters by the end of production.

The payoff went beyond the screen. She said the role gave her a level of confidence she didn’t previously possess as an actor, adding that she feels stronger than ever and that martial arts has become a huge part of her life.

There’s also a representational layer she hasn’t downplayed. Liang has described playing someone who looked like her in a video game as a huge honor, noting that Chun-Li was the first playable female fighter and was Chinese, making her a hero worth looking up to as a kid.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai, the film reached theaters on October 16 to mixed reviews but strong curiosity around its lead. The costume may have arrived last, but it’s the thing fans keep coming back to.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!