David Dastmalchian joins Street Fighter cast in major role

Perth Now

3 days ago

David Dastmalchian has reportedly been cast in Street Fighter.
The 47-year-old actor - who will next be seen in The Life of Chuck - is said to have landed a major role in Legendary's upcoming live action adaptation of Capcom's classic video game.
As reported by Deadline, Dastmalchian will play the villain M. Bison in the movie.
In the games, the character is the leader of criminal organisation Shadaloo, which is involved in arms trafficking, mind control experiments and more, with the goal of world domination.
Other actors previously revealed for the film include WWE superstar Roman Reigns, Andrew Koji, Noah Centineo, Jason Momoa, Orville Peck, 50 Cent and Andrew Schulz.
The movie will be directed by Kitao Sakurai, with plot details being kept under wraps for the time being.
In the Street Fighter video game franchise - which started in 1987 - players collide in one-on-one fights organised by M. Bison in the form of a global fighting tournament.
Over the past 38 years, the games have sold over 55 million unites around the world.
This will be the third time Street Fighter has received a live-action adaptation for the silver screen, with the franchise's first cinematic outing coming in 1994 with the eponymous Street Fighter - which was followed by 2009's Street Fighter: The Legend of Chu-Li.
Dastmalchian has been building his reputation for almost two decades, while his 2024 turn in supernatural horror Late Night With The Devil earned him plaudits.
In January this year, it was revealed he has been cast alongside Kelly Marie Tran in psychological thriller Kodak SuperXX.
The indie film has been written by Tony Rettenmaier and is set in Los Angeles.
It follows Linh (Tran), a quiet woman whose solitary life revolves around her job as a darkroom developer at one of the city's last remaining boutique photo labs.
Her lonely existence takes a paranoid turn when she gets caught up with a mysterious stranger (Dastmalchian), whose photos reveal a dark secret.
Meanwhile, Dastmalchian previously revealed that his dream is to play a James Bond villain and pitched himself to bosses as the perfect new enemy to push 007 to his limits as the spy franchise prepares for a new era following the departure of Daniel Craig.
In a 2023 interview with Slash Film, the 49-year-old actor said: "It begins right now. So whoever is reading this, take it as a sign. You were meant to be reading this line at this moment as you're thinking about the future of what you guys are doing with this franchise.
"Trust me when I say that I can bring something to an enemy of 007, whether he or she or they be played in a way that no one has ever seen Bond brought to life before, which is of course the way that you guys always do it."
The 'Oppenheimer' actor added: "I think there's no one to push Bond to the limits of their capabilities the way that I could, and I would love to do it. So there's my pitch to them.
"I can't wait for them to read this. And then I will owe you when or if I ever get that role, I guess 10 per cent."