New Street Fighter Movie Will Be Directed By Talk To Me's Danny And Michael Philippou

UPDATE: According to THR, Danny and Michael Philippou are no longer directing the new "Street Fighter" movie. The reason: scheduling conflicts. The Philippous are gearing up to film their next A24 movie, "Bring Her Back," soon. The original story continues below. 

Legendary Pictures is wasting absolutely no time in getting a "Street Fighter" movie put together. The studio only just landed the rights to the beloved video game series earlier this month, but they've already lined up a pair of very in-demand, up-and-coming directors to bring the video game to life on the big screen once again. The filmmakers in question? Danny and Michael Philippou.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo behind A24's buzzy upcoming horror film "Talk to Me" are in final talks to direct the new movie based on Capcom's long-running series of fighting games. No word yet on who might be tapped to star, or who is going to pen the screenplay for that matter, but Legendary clearly has no intention of letting the rights waste away for months/years on end — they're springing into action. Meanwhile, the Philippou brothers just went from feature directorial debut to huge potential franchise in a hurry.

"Talk to Me" has gained a lot of traction on the festival circuit ahead of its release in theaters this summer (read our review here). What's perhaps most remarkable is that the duo managed to score what is surely a coveted gig before their first film even officially hit theaters. It was either a really impressive pitch, a whole lot of faith in what they having coming, or some combination of both. Either way, they just moved up Hollywood's list of directors to keep an eye on.

As for "Street Fighter," there have been many, many games released over the years, dating back to the original arcade classic in 1987, with "Street Fighter 6" coming very soon. The franchise has sold close to 50 million copies worldwide since its inception, meaning it has a huge, global audience and has managed to endure in the public consciousness for nearly 40 years. And, given that studios have begun to crack the code on video game movies more recently, with films like "Sonic the Hedgehog" and "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" making bank, there is reason to believe this could be a profitable venture.

The real question is whether or not Danny and Michael Philippou can get it right — and we have some thoughts on how to do that. Let us not forget that the 1994 adaptation starring Jean-Claude Van Damme isn't exactly a cinematic classic. But if they can do right by the source material, this is a franchise with untold potential that could see multiple sequels arriving over the course of many years. We'll see how quickly things progress now that a pair of filmmakers are in place.

The new "Street Fighter" movie does not currently have a release date.