M. Bison Has Entered the Game!
How does that old saying go? The cream will always rise to the top. Well, it seems like that tired euphemism may be true when talking about the blossoming career of David Dastmalchian after Deadline recently confirmed that he will be playing the powerful villain, M. Bison in the new Street Fighter film.
A massive step for the wildly talented actor who has been occupying the shadowy corners of our screens for nearly two decades. With a unique physical appearance and the tendency to play darker roles, Dastmalchian has carved out a blue-collar film career for himself playing bit roles in excellent films like The Dark Knight, Prisoners, and more recently igniting people’s television screens in the much-talked-about Late Night with the Devil from 2023. His addition to the Street Fighter film (playing the lead villain no less) will mark a big step in his career and looks to be his most prominent film role yet.
Street Fighter first hit stores as a one-on-one fighting game in 1987. A franchise that epitomizes the “arcade game” culture has gone on to sell over 56 million copies worldwide and is one of the highest-grossing and most influential video games and pieces of pop culture of all time. The latest installment, Street Fighter 6, was released two years ago in June 2023.
This will not be the first film adaptation of the popular video game franchise. In a film that lives almost entirely in infamy, Street Fighter (1994) has become recognized as one of the worst films of all time. Although there is a vocal group of supporters who have claimed Street Fighter as a cult film, it was skewered by film critics and viewers alike upon its release.
Regardless of the quality of the 1994 adaptation, Dastmalchian will be filling some big shoes. The late, great Raul Julia played the power-hungry M. Bison in the original film and was a rare bright spot in an otherwise terrible movie. It would become one of Julia’s final film roles and the 1994 adaptation would go on to be dedicated to his memory.
Other noteworthy names that will be joining Dastmalchian include Jason Momoa, Orville Peck, Andrew Shulz, and Andrew Koji. Plot details are being kept under wraps by Legendary, but with the addition of Dastmalchian, especially in a lead villain role, it will draw even more attention to this highly anticipated reboot.
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