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Jason Momoa cast himself in Street Fighter
The director said that Jason Momoa had "contagious" enthusiasm right from the moment he was cast in Street Fighter.
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Sometimes actors are announced for a part and the collective world just nods its head and says, “Yeah, that makes sense.” Jason Momoa has had that happen twice recently. The first was when he was announced as Lobo in DC Studios’ Supergirl. Then we found out that he would be Blanka in the new Street Fighter movie. Turns out, he was so eager to play Blanka that he cast himself.
In the latest issue of Empire Magazine, director Kitao Sakurai talked about the casting process and confirmed that Jason Momoa just talked himself into the role. “I didn’t really even cast Jason Momoa – he was just like, “You’re doing Street Fighter, I’m playing Blanka.’ That level of enthusiasm was contagious.”
Weirdly, he would have been the first person we thought of if we were trying to cast Blanka in a new Street Fighter movie. His unique mixture of physicality and almost feral energy makes him the obvious choice for the character. No one flexes his muscles and growls on screen quite like Jason Momoa.
It is hard not to be as excited for Street Fighter as Jason Momoa apparently was. Between David Dastmalchian studying cult leaders to play M. Bison and the director assuring everyone that it will be focused on fun rather than realism, Street Fighter has the potential to be a fun – if a bit silly - video game adaptation. Just like the original movie, if we’re being honest.
Street Fighter is set to hit theaters on October 16.
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