50 Cent Is Unrecognizable As Balrog For The Live-Action Street Fighter Movie

By Jeremy Mathai
Promo art for two video game characters from Street Fighter: Duel Capcom

Attention all gamers and '90s kids: Your wildest dreams are inching closer and closer to becoming a reality ... and we do mean wild. Despite representing one of the most popular and highest-grossing video game franchises currently in existence, it's fair to say that the "Street Fighter" property's various live-action adaptations have been, uh, largely a miss. (Although, of course, there are always defenders of titles like the 1994 "Street Fighter." The less said about 2009's "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li," however, the better.) Still, that certainly hasn't stopped Hollywood from trying, and the latest attempt to bring this franchise to life on the big screen comes in the form of the upcoming blockbuster starring Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Andrew Koji as Ryu, Callina Liang as the fan-favorite Chun-Li, Jason Momoa as Blanka, and many more. The cast has spent the last few months teasing the looks for their respective characters, but today brings us one of the more outrageous reveals yet.

Yes, it's none other than 50 Cent's turn to get in the ring and show us what he's cooking up with Balrog, the African-American boxer that most everyone knows is (loosely) patterned after the boxing legend and "The Hangover" star Mike Tyson. "Street Fighter" is currently shooting in Australia with Japanese director Kitao Sakurai taking the reins, which means the ensemble has had to be in fighting shape to accurately reflect these larger-than-life characters. (Remaining faithful and accurate to the original — and incredibly silly — Capcom fighting games is very, very serious business, you see.) Right on cue, 50 Cent has taken to social media (via Yahoo Entertainment) and released a brief glimpse into his training for Balrog, along with his rather unrecognizable new look as the boxer:

"I don't expect you to understand my level of discipline but watch it, it's entertaining. 'Street Fighter' Coming soon, then 'Street Fighter ll BALROG'! All Roads Lead to Shreveport"

The Street Fighter movie is looking appropriately ridiculous and incredibly silly ... and that's a good thing

The official casting announcement and accompanying graphic for Street Fighter Legendary Pictures/Capcom

Say what you will about yet another video game adaptation banking on nostalgia, but at least "Street Fighter" looks like it's taking a massive swing for the fences. The interactive, shoot-em-up medium seems to have made a concerted effort to come for the crown that superhero movies have earned over the last several years, and for good reason. Shows like "The Last of Us" and "Fallout" have garnered legitimate awards love, while blockbusters like "A Minecraft Movie," "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," the "Sonic" films, and more prove that there are untold amounts of box office profits just waiting to be reaped. But "Street Fighter" in particular seems to be taking a unique approach that leans into the inherent silliness of the source material, and that's sure to be music to many a fan's ears. Look no further than 50 Cent's hilarious (but earnest!) dedication to the role, transforming himself into every inch the character that gamers can immediately recognize.

Of course, 50 Cent's Balrog's not the only major figure involved in this ensemble movie. The sprawling cast also includes the likes of WWE legend Roman Reigns as Akuma, character actor David Dastmalchian as the villainous M. Bison, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, Eric André as Don Sauvage, Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, Orville Peck as Vega, Olivier Richters as Zangief, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda, Rayna Vallandingham as Juli, Alexander Volkanovski as Joe, Kyle Mooney as Marvin, and Mel Jarnson as Cammy. If you remember, the film was originally meant to be directed by the horror duo of Danny and Michael Philippou, though they departed the project in order to focus on their recent feature "Bring Her Back." No matter, as the production appears to be in very good hands as fans everywhere wait on pins and needles to see how this ultimately shapes up.

"Street Fighter" hits the streets (er, theaters) on October 16, 2026.

Recommended