Street Fighter's Sneaky Jean-Claude Van Damme Easter Eggs Explained By Director

EXCLUSIVE: A clever little Easter egg appears in the new video game adaptation, Street Fighter.

Released in theaters on October 16, 2026, Street Fighter marks the video game franchise's latest live-action adaptation. The movie stars Andrew Koji (Ryu), Noah Centineo (Ken Masters), and Callina Liang (Chun-Li). It also features a talented supporting cast, including Cody Rhodes (Guile), Andrew Schulz (Dan Hibiki), and David Dastmalchian (M. Bison).

The new movie takes place in 1993 and follows Ryu and Ken as they are recruited by Chun-Li to participate in the World Warrior Tournament. However, the competition is far more dangerous and corrupt than the fighters realize. Alongside bringing the characters and their signature moves to the big screen, the director Kitao Sakurai also made room for callbacks to earlier installments in the franchise.

In an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan, Sakurai revealed that Street Fighter heavily pays homage to its past and contains several Easter eggs. And, one of these hidden gems honored the 1994 adaptation which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme. Sakurai also confirmed that some of his favorite references are the more subtle ones hidden throughout the movie.

According to Sakurai, the adaptation features a nod to the original movie, alongside several smaller Easter eggs that might be more difficult for audiences to identify. The director also expressed his enthusiasm for the more obscure references, suggesting that viewers familiar with the franchise could discover details that others might miss.

One of the Easter eggs he talks about in the new Street Fighter appears in a photo of Ken and Ryu, with the fighters wearing outfits inspired by those worn by Damian Chapa and Byron Mann, who portrayed Ken and Ryu in the original film starring Van Damme. The subtle detail serves as a tribute to the earlier adaptation, allowing longtime fans to recognize a connection between the two movies without making it a major part of the story.

Honestly, it's the Easter eggs from the Van Damme movie. There's one obvious one, but there are also little ones that are just random, but that are for me the most fun.

Sakurai's decision to include elements from the Van Damme movie also reveals that the film was influenced by more than just the Capcom video games. While the original Street Fighter II remains an important source of inspiration, the director says that the franchise's previous movies influenced some of the creative decisions as well.

Rhodes also discussed a reference that he was particularly excited about. The WWE star revealed that his character gets to say a line from Street Fighter II. He added that the moment received an explosive reaction when he saw it in a theater. However, he did reveal what his character said because he wanted to avoid spoilers.

It's a line of lines for me, especially having grown up with the game and all its different iterations. You can look at every frame. There's a reference.

Street Fighter is playing in theaters now.