Inside Callina Liang’s Grueling Transformation to Become Chun-Li in ‘Street Fighter’
Video game adaptations live or die by how convincingly their stars embody characters audiences already know intimately, and few roles carry as much built-in scrutiny as Chun-Li. As the self-proclaimed “First Lady of Fighting Games,” she’s one of the most recognizable figures in Capcom’s roster, making any live-action interpretation a high-stakes undertaking from the start.
That pressure fell squarely on Callina Liang when she landed the role in Legendary’s live-action ‘Street Fighter’ reboot back in June 2025. Coming off breakout performances in Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’ and J.C. Lee’s ‘Bad Genius,’ the casting marked her first foray into action filmmaking, a genre with an entirely different set of physical demands than anything she’d tackled before.
To meet those demands, Liang committed to an intense physical transformation built around mastering Chun-Li’s signature kick-heavy fighting style. She trained roughly two hours a day across Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Wushu, working to replicate the speed and precision that define the character’s combat approach in the games.
The training extended well beyond the gym, reshaping her diet just as dramatically. “When I was bulking, I ate 12 eggs a day. Every two hours I had to have a meal, and I was on the verge of throwing up. But it worked. By the end of the shoot, my thighs had grown six-and-a-half centimeters each,” Liang told Empire about the grueling process.
Beyond the physical conditioning, Liang reportedly threw herself into researching the character on a much deeper level. She downloaded every version of ‘Street Fighter’ she could find and studied slow-motion footage of Chun-Li’s in-game moves, breaking down the character’s technique frame by frame to understand exactly how the kicks and combat animations were constructed.
That level of preparation appears to be part of a broader pattern across the film’s cast, with reports suggesting her co-stars underwent similarly rigorous training for their own roles. For a franchise adaptation with this much fan scrutiny attached, that shared commitment to authenticity seems to be a deliberate strategy from the production.
Liang’s transformation has already started making waves online, with set photos showing her fully in character as Chun-Li, complete with the character’s signature ox-horn hair buns, spiked wrist cuffs, and blue costume. Some images have shown the costume visibly torn and scuffed, with her arms marked with grime from staged fight sequences, offering a glimpse of just how physically demanding the shoot has been.
Fans have responded enthusiastically to how closely her look mirrors Chun-Li’s classic design, a notable shift from some previous live-action adaptations that strayed further from the source material’s original character designs. That attention to visual accuracy appears to extend directly from the physical work Liang put in before filming even began.
PERFECT! Watch the New Trailer for Street Fighter, hitting theaters everywhere October 16. pic.twitter.com/jAAPf1k9jf
— Street Fighter Movie (@Street_Fighter) September 1, 2026
‘Street Fighter’ is directed by Kitao Sakurai and set in 1993, following Chun-Li as she recruits estranged fighters Ryu and Ken Masters for the World Warrior Tournament, a competition that ultimately draws them into a larger conspiracy. Andrew Koji plays Ryu, while Noah Centineo takes on the role of Ken, with David Dastmalchian rounding out the central cast as the villainous M. Bison.
The film’s ensemble reaches well beyond its central trio, too. Jason Momoa is set to appear as Blanka, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson takes on Balrog, Cody Rhodes plays Guile, and Joe “Roman Reigns” Anoa’i steps into the role of Akuma, giving the adaptation one of the more eclectic casts of any recent video game movie.
‘Street Fighter’ is scheduled to hit theaters and IMAX screens on October 16, giving fans a chance to see whether Liang’s months of physical preparation translate into the kind of performance the source material demands. Given how much dedication has already gone into just the transformation alone, expectations for her take on the character continue to build.
For a franchise that’s had a rocky history translating to live action, this level of commitment from its lead offers real reason for optimism among longtime fans of the games.
Do you think Callina Liang’s intense training will pay off as Chun-Li?
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