WWE Superstar Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i has taken to social media to tease his transformation into the incredibly powerful villain known as Akuma in the live-action Street Fighter movie.
Akuma, which translates as "Devil" or "Demon," made his debut in Super Street Fighter II Turbo as a secret character and an alternative boss to M. Bison. He was introduced as the younger brother of Gouken, Ryu's and Ken's master.
The brief clip shows Reigns walking past a Street Fighter arcade cabinet, stopping to glance at the screen. He then looks into the camera with a red glint in his eyes.
"The Tribal Chief" was recently written off WWE television in an injury angle after being hit with multiple Tsunami splashes from Bronson Reed.
A recent synopsis revealed that the movie will be set during the same year Street Fighter II was released in arcades.
“Set in 1993, estranged Street Fighters Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo) are thrown back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face off against each other and the demons of their past. And if they don’t, it’s GAME OVER!”
The cast list also confirmed speculation that Olivier Richters and Mel Jarnson will play Zangief and Cammy, while revealing that NJPW pro-wrestler Hirooki Goto will play E. Honda, and Rayna Vallandingham is on board as Juli.
The movie also stars Noah Centineo as Ken Masters, Andrew Koji as Ryu, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Orville Peck as Vega, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson as Balrog, Jason Momoa as Blanka, Vidyut Jammwal as Dhalsim, Olivier Richters as Zangief, Hirooki Goto as E. Honda, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Andrew Schulz as Dan Hibiki, Eric André as Don Sauvage, Mel Jarnson as Cammy, Rayna Vallandingham as Juli, and Alexander Volkanovski as Joe.
Check out Reigns' X post below, along with some previously-released teasers.
“Legendary has built a reputation for ambitious, globally appealing films, and we’re excited to be partnering with them. Street Fighter is the perfect start to our collaboration, which we believe will be strong and lasting,” said Josh Greenstein, co-chair of Paramount Pictures and vice chair of platforms, and Dana Goldberg, Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Chair of Paramount Television.
Added Legendary CEO Josh Grode: “Partnering with David, Dana and Josh and their teams at Paramount marks an exciting new chapter for Legendary as we continue to pursue a diversified growth strategy—expanding our output, building new franchises, and creating more films for global audiences. This partnership is an extraordinary opportunity, and we look forward to working closely with Paramount on stories that will captivate and inspire moviegoers worldwide.”