Ryu and Ken's Bromance Is What We’re Most Excited About in Street Fighter

There are many reasons to keep an eye out for the latest Street Fighter film directed by Kitao Sakurai (out in the Philippines on October 13). One is that it’s the first adaptation of the legendary fighting game series since 1994’s Street Fighter: The Movie, but the less we talk about that one, the better.

Another is the absolutely stacked ensemble cast of celebrities playing characters we’ve all come to love: Jason Momoa as Blanka, rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Smith as boxer Balrog, and David Dastmalchian as the series antagonist M. Bison. Personally, I’m showing up at the premiere just for Cody Rhodes repping Guile’s glorious flat top.

But the real reason Street Fighter is on our movie radar right now is to see gaming’s most legendary bromance in the form of Ryu and Ken. Noah Centineo and Andrew Koji, who play the iconic Shotokan brothers, break down how their characters’ estranged relationship develops as the story unfolds on the big screen.

“They were training partners and friends for a very long time,” says Centineo, who plays Ken Masters, a washed-up American fighting star seeking redemption.

“They were brothers–no, actually, blood brothers–that in this story have not spoken because there was an event that caused them to go very separate paths,” added Koji, who plays the disciplined, off-grid martial artist Ryu.

Ryu and Ken made their video game debut in 1987, and their story began when they were kids training in a secluded dojo. Fans of the series know all too well how their relationship grew over time and eventually set a golden standard for what male friendships should be.

Despite possessing similar fighting styles, they differ in individual personalities; the blonde fire-breathing fist is more outgoing, while the Hadouken-shooting wanderer is stoic and reserved. But rather than those two qualities clashing, their mindsets rub off on each other, making them better men. Every match, win or lose, is a teaching moment.

They are each other’s rivals, but also the first shoulder to cry on and the first to call when trouble arrives, which is exactly what motivated the film’s Ryu to enter the global tournament of the best world warriors. Why else would a hermit challenge his own values to save your butt, if not to be a real bro?

Friendships come and go, but real ones reconnect as if nothing happened. It’s going to be interesting how their history and mutual respect eventually bring them back together when Street Fighter opens in the Philippines on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.