Callina Liang has opened up about the grueling physical transformation she undertook to play Chun-Li in the upcoming “Street Fighter” movie.
The actor, who takes on the role of the iconic fighting-game character, told Empire Magazine that she bulked her thighs by 6.5 centimeters through an intense regimen of martial arts training and force-feeding. Liang committed to two hours daily of Taekwondo, Muay Thai, and Wushu to build the leg power the role demanded.
Her dietary overhaul was equally extreme. “When I was bulking, I ate 12 eggs a day,” she said. “Every two hours I had to have a meal, and I was on the verge of throwing up. But it worked. By the end of the shoot, my thighs had grown six-and-a-half centimeters each.”
Liang also immersed herself in the source material through exhaustive study of the games themselves. She loaded every version of Street Fighter onto her PlayStation 5 and recorded Chun-Li’s entire move set during fights, capturing the footage in slow motion on her phone for repeated review.
“I downloaded every single version of Street Fighter onto a PS5 and I recorded all of Chun-Li’s moves during fights on my phone in slow-mo, so I could play them back and study them,” she added in the Empire interview.
That research centered on moves like the Hyakuretsukyaku, or Lightning Kick, the rapid-fire leg strike that has defined Chun-Li since her debut. The character first appeared in Capcom’s 1987 original and has remained a franchise staple across six main sequels and numerous spin-offs.
In current game lore, Chun-Li operates as a former ICPO agent who now runs kung fu classes and cares for Li-Fen, a survivor of the Black Moon Incident, following the collapse of the criminal syndicate Shadaloo. The live-action adaptation from Legendary Pictures and Paramount Pictures places her at the center of the narrative.
The film is scheduled for theatrical release on October 16.
Fan response to promotional materials has been sharply divided. One supporter wrote online that the project “Looks wildly ridiculous, goofy and over the top in all the right ways.” Another commented, “Hadouken! This trailer looks straight out of the arcade. Momoa as a villain? Ken & Ryu vibes hitting different.”
Detractors have been equally vocal. One user posted, “This shh looks pointless out of all the video games with actual storylines they picked this why…” while another concluded, “At this point they’re just recycling nostalgia and hope we won’t notice. October 16 for another reboot that no one asked for.”
The character’s signature muscular thighs have been a defining visual trait since 1987, making physical authenticity a particular pressure point for any live-action portrayal.