Callina Liang's London Snap Has 'Street Fighter' Fans Counting Down to Her Chun-Li Debut

Callina Liang has never followed a straight career path. Born in Vancouver, she grew up between Beijing, Sydney, and Singapore, studied performance at LASALLE College of the Arts, and later trained at drama school in New York before moving on to film studies in Toronto. It’s the kind of globe-trotting résumé that makes her latest social media moment feel oddly fitting.

That international upbringing eventually led her to London, where she landed her first major screen role in the ITVX teen drama ‘Tell Me Everything’. She played Mei across 6 episodes and got her first taste of stunt work, then popped up in an episode of ‘Foundation’. The city has stayed a big part of her story since, and she is reportedly based there today.

Liang shared a new photo via Instagram stories. The shot shows the actress posing in front of Big Ben, striking a peace sign with her arm stretched toward the camera. A “hi, London” location tag sits over the frame, while her long dark hair falls over a plaid mini skirt and a brown fringed top.

It’s a lighthearted, low-key snapshot, yet it arrives at a pivotal time. With her biggest role yet just around the corner, every new public glimpse of Liang is drawing extra attention. That role, of course, is Chun-Li in Legendary Pictures’ live-action ‘Street Fighter’, due in US theaters on October 16 through Paramount Pictures.

Directed by Kitao Sakurai and produced in association with Capcom, the film is set in 1993 and follows estranged fighters Ryu and Ken Masters as they are recruited for the next World Warrior Tournament. Liang plays the mysterious Chun-Li who pulls them back into the ring.

Liang is joining an unusual lineage. According to IMDb, she is the fourth actress to play Chun-Li and the second Canadian to do so after Kristin Kreuk. This is also just the third live-action feature based on the Capcom game series, following the 1994 film and the 2009 spin-off ‘Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li’.

The supporting cast is stacked. Noah Centineo plays Ken, and Andrew Koji is Ryu, alongside Jason Momoa as Blanka, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Cody Rhodes as Guile, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog. Wrestling star Roman Reigns rounds out the lineup as Akuma.

Marketing for the film has already kicked into gear. The global World Warrior Tour launched with a first preview on the Shinjuku Yunika Vision screens in Tokyo, and the studios released the first playable, full-length trailer on YouTube. Online reaction focused heavily on Liang’s take on Chun-Li.

PERFECT! Watch the New Trailer for Street Fighter, hitting theaters everywhere October 16. pic.twitter.com/jAAPf1k9jf
— Street Fighter Movie (@Street_Fighter) September 1, 2026

Fans who followed her early career might not be surprised. While promoting ‘Tell Me Everything’ in 2022, she spoke excitedly about doing her own stunts, including repeated backward falls onto crash mats during a church-tower sequence. She also revealed that she was boxing and training in kung fu and silat, and that she wanted to play a ‘John Wick’-style character.

Her rise has been steady rather than sudden. Before joining ‘Street Fighter’, she starred in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’ and appeared in the thriller ‘Bad Genius’, building a reputation as one of film’s most promising up-and-comers. Being cast as one of gaming’s most recognizable heroines feels like the natural next leap.

Whether Liang’s smiling London photo is a quiet break before the press storm or a preview of what’s coming, it gives fans a small, relaxed look at the actress before Chun-Li takes center stage. With release day less than 3 weeks away, the spotlight is only going to get brighter.