🥊 Street Fighter Movie Cast Takes Playful Shot at Mortal Kombat During The Game Awards 2025
The long-running rivalry between Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat made an unexpected — and humorous — appearance on the stage of The Game Awards 2025, thanks to the cast of the upcoming Street Fighter movie.
While presenting the award for Best Ongoing Game — which ultimately went to No Man’s Sky — the film’s star-studded cast used their time in the spotlight to poke fun at Mortal Kombat, reigniting one of gaming’s most iconic rivalries.
🎬 A Star-Packed Street Fighter Takeover
Nearly the entire cast of the highly anticipated Street Fighter movie appeared on stage, including:
- Andrew Koji (Ryu)
- Noah Centineo (Ken)
- Callina Liang (Chun-Li)
- Roman Reigns (Akuma)
- David Dastmalchian (M. Bison)
- Cody Rhodes (Guile)
- Andrew Schulz (Dan Hibiki)
- Vidyut Jammwal (Dhalsim)
- Orville Peck (Vega)
- Olivier Richters (Zangief)
- Rayna Vallandingham (Juli)
- Mel Jarnson (Cammy)
- Jason Momoa (Blanka)
Before the award presentation, host Geoff Keighley debuted an exclusive sneak peek from the film. Liang confirmed that production recently wrapped, with the movie set to hit theaters on October 16, 2026.
😂 Jason Momoa Jokes, Rivalry Rekindled
Momoa, a longtime fan of the franchise, joked that he had “threatened violence” if he wasn’t cast as Blanka. He also intentionally mispronounced Koji’s character as “Rih-yu,” prompting Koji to fire back:
“It’s pronounced RYU — you know that!”
The crowd erupted, setting the tone for what came next.
🔥 Throwing Shade at Mortal Kombat
As the cast thanked Street Fighter fans for their support, Andrew Schulz took things a step further, jokingly claiming that the cast of Mortal Kombat 2 was also present at the ceremony.
He then quipped that the Mortal Kombat cast “doesn’t care about you” — the fans — and “only cares about money.”
Schulz quickly softened the blow with a punchline:
“We care about money and you. Street Fighter forever!”
The rest of the cast cheered, while Liang jumped in to clarify that Schulz was “joking” and “cannot be trusted,” drawing even more laughter from the audience.
Moments later, No Man’s Sky was announced as the winner, and the cast exited the stage to loud applause.
⚔️ A Rivalry That Refuses to Die
The playful jab tapped into a rivalry dating back to 1992, when the original Mortal Kombat launched in arcades.
Despite decades of competition, the two franchises have never officially crossed over — even as Street Fighter has appeared in Marvel vs. Capcom, Tekken, and Project X Zone, while Mortal Kombat has featured guest characters like Homelander and Ghostface.
With both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat 2 films slated for release in 2026 — Mortal Kombat 2 arriving in May and Street Fighter following in October — Schulz’s comments may have just added some extra fuel to the rivalry.
Whether the Mortal Kombat 2 cast responds remains to be seen, but for now, the gauntlet has been thrown.