This Street Fighter casting is goddamn wild, and if you’re a wrestling fan it’s like a dream come true. That said, I’m both a wrestling and consider Street Fighter the greatest fighting game franchise ever, and it’s yet to have a good live-action feature film. So I’m a bit torn because, as crazy as things have been, I’m not sure casting a bunch of wrestlers is the way to go. Anyway, there’s yet another wrestler being added to the mix, and it’s recent NJPW World Champion, Hirooki Goto, for the role of E. Honda.
Fightful reports that Goto, who just lost the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Zack Sabre Jr. and was pulled out of the G1 Climax tournament due to injury, has been cast as E. Honda in Street Fighter. The live-action film from Legendary and director Kitao Sakurai already has WWE superstars Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns circling the roles of Guile and Akuma, respectively. Also set to star are Andrew Koji as Ryu, Noah Centineo as Ken, 50 Cent as Balrog, Andrew Schulz as Dan, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Orville Peck as Vega, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, and Jason Momoa as Blanka.
E. Honda debuted in Street Fighter II and is a Japanese sumo wrestling master, who enters the tournament to prove sumo is a real sport.
So the “Goto Revolution” may have been shut down in the squared circle for a while, but it could be reborn in the sumo ring in Street Fighter. Goto began his wrestling career with New Japan in 2003, winning multiple championships along the way. But he had never been World Heavyweight Champion until defeating Zack Sabre Jr. for the title in February. Goto has a little bit of acting experience, having played a minor role in The Mo Brothers’ action flick, Headshot.
I’ve long considered Goto the true heart of New Japan Pro Wrestling, the very embodiment of “fighting spirit.” It’s pretty cool to see him get this opportunity.
Street Fighter was originally to hit theaters in March 2026 but does not currently have a date.
