Hasbro - Street Fighter : A Legendary Homecoming as Hasbro Returns to the Franchise for the Upcoming Live-Action Movie

By Mulder, 02 february 2026

More than three decades after plastic fists first met arcade nostalgia, Hasbro is officially returning to the world of Street Fighter, and this time the timing could not be more deliberate. Announced on February 2, 2026, the new licensing partnership between Hasbro and Legendary Entertainment is directly tied to the highly anticipated live-action Street Fighter movie set for a worldwide theatrical release on October 16, 2026. For longtime fans, this collaboration feels less like a standard merchandising deal and more like a full-circle moment, as Hasbro was one of the key players who helped translate Street Fighter™ II: The World Warrior from arcade cabinets into living rooms during the franchise’s explosive rise in the early 1990s, a period when action figures, vehicles, and playsets were as essential to fandom as mastering a Hadoken.

What makes this announcement resonate beyond standard press-release enthusiasm is how openly Hasbro frames the partnership as a homecoming. Tim Kilpin, President of Toy, Licensing, and Entertainment at Hasbro, underlined that emotional continuity by referencing the company’s firsthand experience with the franchise during its arcade-era peak, a time when Street Fighter II was not merely a game but a cultural phenomenon that reshaped competitive gaming, character-driven franchises, and even toy aisle strategies. That historical awareness suggests this new line of action figures, toys, and collectibles is being approached not as disposable movie tie-ins, but as legacy products meant to reflect the spirit, visual identity, and kinetic energy that have defined Street Fighter for decades. From an industry perspective, this is also a smart acknowledgment that today’s core audience includes both younger moviegoers and adult collectors who vividly remember those original figures.

On the Legendary side, the enthusiasm is equally strategic. Amber Sheppo, Senior Vice President of Consumer Products & Partnerships at Legendary Entertainment, emphasized the studio’s focus on expanding beloved intellectual properties beyond the screen and into everyday fan experiences. Legendary’s track record in translating major IPs into global box-office successes lends weight to that claim, and this collaboration positions Street Fighter not just as a single film event, but as a broader cultural moment extending into homes, collections, and fan communities worldwide. In that sense, the toy line becomes an extension of the cinematic universe itself, reinforcing characters and iconography well beyond the theatrical window.

The timing is particularly notable given the scale of the upcoming film, which is based on Capcom’s globally successful video game franchise and features an unusually eclectic and high-profile cast. The ensemble includes Noah Centineo as Ken, Andrew Koji as Ryu, Callina Liang as Chun-Li, Joe Roman Reigns Anoai as Akuma, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, Cody Rhodes as Guile, Curtis 50 Cent Jackson as Balrog, and Jason Momoa as Blanka, a lineup that blends Hollywood actors, genre favorites, and global sports-entertainment icons. From a merchandising standpoint, this diversity almost guarantees a visually and tonally varied toy range, appealing simultaneously to film fans, wrestling audiences, and long-established Street Fighter devotees who have followed these characters across multiple generations of games.

Hasbro has been careful not to overpromise specifics at this stage, stating only that more details will be revealed in the coming months, but the company’s broader positioning offers clues about the ambition behind the project. With over 164 years of experience and a reach extending to more than 500 million fans worldwide, Hasbro has increasingly leaned into a franchise-first strategy, leveraging both original and legacy IPs such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, TRANSFORMERS, NERF, and MONOPOLY. The return to Street Fighter fits squarely within that approach, especially at a time when nostalgia-driven properties, when handled with care, have proven capable of bridging generational gaps rather than merely exploiting them.

From an industry recognition standpoint, Hasbro’s consistent acknowledgment for corporate citizenship and brand impact, including honors from 3BL Media, JUST Capital, The Civic 50, and Fast Company, adds an additional layer of credibility to the collaboration. These distinctions reinforce the idea that the company views partnerships like Street Fighter not simply as revenue opportunities, but as long-term brand relationships with cultural weight. Meanwhile, Legendary Entertainment, whose film productions have collectively generated nearly $21 billion at the global box office, continues to position itself as a steward of large-scale, fan-driven properties capable of sustaining momentum across multiple platforms.

Ultimately, this Street Fighter toy collaboration feels emblematic of a broader trend in contemporary entertainment, where films, games, and physical collectibles are no longer siloed experiences but interconnected expressions of the same universe. For fans who remember the tactile thrill of snapping a Ryu figure into a fighting stance in the early ’90s, and for newcomers discovering these characters through a big-budget live-action adaptation, the Hasbro–Legendary partnership promises a tangible bridge between past and present. As the October 16, 2026 release date approaches, expectations will naturally rise, but if this homecoming delivers on its promise, Street Fighter may once again prove that its greatest strength lies in its ability to reinvent itself without forgetting where it came from.

Synopsis :
In 1993, Ryu and Ken Masters, two Street Fighters who were once inseparable, are thrown back into the arena when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament: a brutal clash of fists, fate, and fury. But behind this battle royale lies a deadly conspiracy that forces them to face each other, while confronting the demons of their past... And if they fail, it's GAME OVER.

Street Fighter
Directed by Kitao Sakurai
Written by Dalan Musson
Based on Street Fighter by Capcom
Produced by Mary Parent
Starring Noah Centineo, Andrew Koji, Callina Liang, Joe "Roman Reigns" Anoa'I, David Dastmalchian, Cody Rhodes, Andrew Schulz, Eric André, Vidyut Jammwal, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Jason Momoa
Cinematography : Ken Seng
Edited by Luke Lynch
Production companies : Legendary Pictures, Capcom
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date : October 16, 2026

(Source : press release)