New Trailer Alert: Street Fighter (2026)
Wow. This video game movie adaptation went “full cheese” … and it seems to have worked. Marvelously.
First, some context.
I grew up in the 1970s and witnessed the birth of the home computer, home gaming, and the era of cabinet games in the 1980s and 90s. It was a phenomenal period of entertainment. It coincided with the explosion of VHS and home video, action movies, and action movie stars. If you love escapist entertainment and recognize (and embrace) its critical importance in our lives, it was a remarkable few decades. Cabinet gaming opened up a whole new realm of entertainment for us kids. On weekends, we travelled downtown to the video arcades with a few bucks burning in our pockets. We spent hours watching people game, and jumping in ourselves to either play the newest cabinets or old classics. When I was in university, there was actually a games room on campus! If there was an hour break between class, there wasn’t really enough time to study, so we congregated in that space and spent a few quarters … and laughed a lot. And get this — It was an incredibly social time. Gaming today really removes that social aspect, but back then, it was mostly a time for people to be together in person.
Yes, there were home consoles, like Atari, but they were rare. Most kids didn’t have them, and we had to go to arcades to play. I went to ones in London, where I live in Canada, such as Gilly’s and Wizards.
There were a lot of games to play. Everything from puzzle-based to shooters to driving games and the old classics like Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Asteroids, Dragon Slayer, Tempest, Centipede, and so many more.
So many.
The hand-to-hand combat games were always fun. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Double Dragon, and Bad Dudes are the ones I remember most. The first two were arena combat, with two players facing off against each other; the latter two were cooperative combat vs. the computer and a side-scrolling style.
A quick Google search tells me that Street Fighter came out in 1987 and featured Ryu fighting ten opponents in five countries. Double Dragon came out that same year. Mortal Kombat, didn’t arrive on the scene until 1992 — five years later.
It’s important to note just how successful these games were. People loved them. There were tournaments and competitions in gaming that mirrored the actual story in the games! It was just a really fun time to be alive. Also important to mention is that three of these properties have had movie adaptations, with varying degrees of success. Double Dragon (1994) was definitely the one that was most poorly received. Street Fighter (1994) starred Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia, a highly respected and well-known actor in his final performance. Mortal Kombat had good success as a film in 1995, and is currently experiencing a resurgence in film as a new series.
So, in 1994-1995, three of these cabinet games arrived as movie versions, all of varying quality, and all pretty darn cheesy.
Street Fighter (2026)
And now, thirty-two years later, we have a reboot of the Street Fighter film. The cast is large, with most characters from the first two games included: Andrew Koji (Ryu) Jason Momoa (Blanka), Noah Centineo (from this year’s Masters of the Universe, playing Ken Masters), 50 Cent (Balrog), Cody Rhodes (Guile), Olivier Richters (Zangief), and Callina Liang (Chun-Li). And, as far as I can tell by the trailer, they have embraced the cheese …. which is a good thing!
The plotline, from IMDB:
Street Fighters Ryu and Ken reunite when Chun-Li recruits them for the World Warrior Tournament. As they face a hidden conspiracy, they must confront each other and their past — or face destruction.
Now, here’s the total cheese-dripping face-melting crazy insane jaw-dropping trailer. Will you see this in theatres on 16 October 2026?
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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.
— Timothy S. Johnston, 24 April 2026
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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel
“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop
“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite
“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories
“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest
“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels
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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!
WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.
Book Cover & Jacket Copy:
AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!
A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …
Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.
And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.
Taunting him.
Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.
If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.
But the assassin could be anyone …
Watch your back, Mac.
A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.
FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE
The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:
The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007
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TSJ’s Awards
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THE WAR BENEATH: FIRST PLACE 2018 GLOBAL THRILLER Action / Adventure Category Winner, 2019 Silver Falchion Award Finalist, 2018 CLUE Award Semi-Finalist, 2019 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist, & 2019 CYGNUS Award Shortlister
THE SAVAGE DEEPS: FIRST PLACE 2020 CYGNUS Award Winner, 2019 GLOBAL THRILLER Awards Finalist, 2022 Kindle Book Awards Semi-Finalist; 2019 CLUE Award Shortlister
FATAL DEPTH: FIRST PLACE 2021 GLOBAL THRILLER Award Winner, 2022 Silver Falchion Award Finalist (Best Action Adventure), 2021 CYGNUS Award Semi-Finalist
