The Street Fighter movie included a Justin Wong cameo because director Kitao Sakurai wanted to speak to the fighting game community in an "authentic" way.
Those who have seen Street Fighter may recognize a handful of the prisoners present behind bars during the midway point's Blanka vs. Ryu fight. They include fighting game legends Justin Wong, IFC Yipes, and Maximilian Dood all providing a running commentary on the clash below them.
But it's Wong who gets the most notable moments, including sporting a '37' tattoo referencing the iconic 'Evo Moment 37', a nail-biting parry-fest between Wong and Daigo Umehara. In the battle, Wong clutched defeat from the jaws of victory in agonizing fashion – before going viral worldwide for his luckless loss.
"In the past, video game adaptations maybe didn't speak to the fans or speak to the community in such an authentic way. These days, with Street Fighter and other films of this era, people are doing a better job of really involving the community and saying, 'Hey, we're making this movie for you,'" Sakurai said of embracing the fighting game community with a series of cameos in Street Fighter.
Sakurai adds, "Street Fighter, a movie, needs to work for fans first. Obviously, there's going to be a broader audience beyond that, but that needs to be the entry point for the community."
For more, we have Sakurai giving Capcom's verdict on the Street Fighter movie, plus our spoiler-filled breakdowns of the Street Fighter movie ending and Street Fighter movie post-credits scene.
