Legendary‘s live-action Street Fighter movie continues to build its roster, tapping Indian action star Vidyut Jammwal and Japanese Professional Wrestler Hirooki Goto as limb-stretching yogi Dhalsim and sumo wrestler E. Honda, respectively.
Although the film’s plot remains firmly under wraps, the project marks the Hollywood debut for both Jammwal and Goto, with the former branching out from his repertoire of Hindi films like 2013’s Commando and its two sequels, and 2024’s Crakk, with the 44-year-old actor being deliberate about which project to take on in order to introduce himself in the U.S. market, according to Deadline’s sources,
His character, Dhalsim, is a mystical yogi and a pacifist in the games, who goes against his beliefs by entering the World Warrior tournament to raise money for his poor village. Making his first appearance back in 1991’s Street Fighter II: The World Warrior, Dhalsim is known for his stretchy limbs, able to extend his arms, legs, abdomen and neck to attack at range, earning him the alias “long-arm”. The character also wields many fire-based attacks to supplement his basic moves, making him a formidable long-range fighter.
On the other hand, Japanese wrestler Goto is slated to play E. Honda in the movie, as reported by Fightful.com’s Sean Ross Sapp. The 46-year-old is a familiar face in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling scene, beginning his wrestling career back in 2003 and has clinched over 10 championships over the years, including being a former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. His casting marks yet another real-world wrestler to appear in the movie, joining the ranks of WWE stars Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns as Guile and Akuma, respectively.
Edmond Honda, better known as E. Honda, is another staple in the Street Fighter game franchise, making his first appearance in 1991’s Street Fighter II. Honda is a professional sumo wrestler and sentō (Japanese bathhouse) proprietor, who enters the martial arts tournament to prove that sumo wrestlers are among the greatest fighters in the world. In combat, Honda is known for his offensive charge attacks, including his iconic Hundred Hand Slap, where he attacks with a rapid flow of palm strikes.
Jammwal and Goto join an already stacked cast of characters in the Street Fighter movie, which to date still hasn’t received a firm release window, including Andrew Koji’s (Bullet Train) Ryu, Jason Momoa’s (Aquaman) Blanka, Noah Centineo’s (Warfare) Ken, Callina Liang’s (Tell me Everything) Chun-Li, rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson’s Balrog, and David Dastmalchian’s (Late Night with the Devil) M. Bison.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
