Report: The Philippou Brothers, Creators of Talk To Me, no longer involved in Street Fighter movie
Danny and Michael Philippou have resigned from the Street Fighter feature adaptation in order to pursue other projects, according to reports.
The Australian twin filmmakers behind last year’s surprise horror success, Talk to Me, are no longer working with Legendary on the screen adaptation of the classic video game from Capcom, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Danny and Michael Philippou exit Legendary’s Street Fighter — Here’s why!
Scheduling is believed to be the reason behind their departure, according to sources from THR. Legendary and Capcom were looking to start production on Street Fighter soon, but the duo decided to focus on Bring Her Back, which reunites them with A24, the studio behind Talk to Me.
The project, starring Oscar-nominated Sally Hawkins and Billy Barratt, will begin filming later this month in Australia. The Philippou brothers also have Talk to Me 2 in the works, which will keep them with A24 for the foreseeable future.
Although conflicting schedules may have contributed to their decision to leave the project, there may be other underlying reasons as well. The previous attempts to adapt the video game franchise were both critical and commercial failures, although the Van Damme version did develop a cult following.
Making a Street Fighter movie is a challenging task due to the lack of a story in the interactive fighting video game to adapt.
The enduring legacy of the Street Fighter video games
Street Fighter is recognized as one of the most enduring video game franchises of all time. It debuted in 1987 with the arcade game and gained significant popularity with Street Fighter II in 1991, credited with revolutionizing one-on-one play.
Capcom, the company known for selling game franchises, capitalized on the game’s popularity and released numerous special editions and remakes. Overall, the Street Fighter franchise has sold 49 million units worldwide. The franchise was adapted for the screen in 1994 and 2009, but both attempts failed at the box office.