For those of us eager to behold just what's in store for us when the upcoming Street Fighter movie, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li rolls out next year, here's a special update: the writer of the movie's plot itself, Justin Marks, and his explanation just why the movie focuses on the high-kicking wonder rather than the game's more visible characters. So, just why Chun-Li, then? Justin Marks reveals that he picked Chun-Li as the focus of the movie simply because he believed films are about unexpected heroes, and not because he wanted to have a "blatantly sexualised female lead".
While he admits that Ryu and Ken are more visible and familiar in the series, Chun-Li is the heart and soul of the game, having lost her father and being left for dead. His quote, verbatim:
First, I've never seen a successful action movie (in my mind) that blatantly sexualised its female lead and succeeded for its audience; Catwoman, Elektra, the list goes on and on.
Then I think back to The Terminator, or possibly my all-time favourite movie, Aliens, and I think of how Ripley is depicted in that film. She's a tough woman, but not because she came from a place of wearing tight pants and beating up men.
She's tough because she had this core emotional story about a life that could have been and never was. To me, that's the way you write a woman in these kinds of movies.
Very well said. Here's hoping that the movie is worth the wait. Updates as we get them!
