'Street Fighter', 'Saw XI' Removed From Release Schedule

Sony and Lionsgate have made some of their own pre-CinemaCon shifts in their respective slates

For you, the day Saw XI and Street Fighter were removed from the schedule was an important day of your life, but for Lionsgate and Sony, it was Monday. And CinemaCon was coming up, so both studios made major shifts in preparation.

Sony has removed Street Fighter from its March 20, 2026 release date. Deadline implies that the removal has to do with the global distribution deal with Legendary expiring at the end of last year. Variety however, claims that the director is just as unknown as the plot, writer and cast. This is despite The Eric Andre Show alum Kitao Sakurai having been reportedly picked to take over from Talk to Me directors Danny and Michael Philippou last month. To me, this implies either the writer did not know, or talks fell through and the lack of a director pick is what brought the delay. Or it wasn’t true in the first place. The Hollywood Reporter, who was my source for Sakurai’s tapping, seems to lean on a lack of cast announcement.

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This is quite the roadblock for the franchise’s third attempt at feature film success. The 1994 film directed by Steven E. de Souza helped further tank the reputation of video game movies less than two years after the release of Super Mario Bros. It starred Jean-Claude Van Damme as Guile, Raúl Juliá as M. Bison, and Ming-Na Wen as Chun-Li and saw Guile gather a group of fighters to help free a collection of kidnapped UN delegates. 2009’s Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li didn’t fare much better. Starring Kristin Kreuk as Chun-Li, Neal McDonough as M. Bison, Chris Klein as Charlie Nash, and Michael Clarke Duncan as Balrog was probably more snubbed by fans, overshadowed as 20th Century Fox also released the despised Dragonball Evolution the same year.

Launched in 1987, Street Fighter has sold more than 49 million units worldwide, becoming one of the highest-grossing video game franchises of all time, with well-spread sequels over the 36 years, as well as special editions and remakes. 1991’s second installment was the first to offer choices of playable characters and fighting techniques. The most recent game in the franchise, Street Fighter 6 was released on June 2, 2023, on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. It even won fighting game of the year at that year’s Game Awards. The latter three entries in the series were released after hiatuses of 11, 8, and 7 years respectively.

The film does not have a direct replacement, however the studio has shifted Shiver, Tommy Wirkola’s shark thriller formerly known as Beneath the Storm, from August 1, 2025 to July 3, 2026. Plot details remain under wraps, but the film directed by the director of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters and Violent Night stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou. Adam McKay and Kevin Messick serve as producers. It is now set to go up against Minions 3, which opens up on the Wednesday, July 1.

Lionsgate’s removal of Saw XI, the next installment of the revitalized horror franchise came a week after it was reported “zero progress” has been made on the next installment since writers Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan turned in their draft about a year ago. “We haven’t heard anything since May,” says Melton, whose involvement with the franchise goes back to 2007’s Saw IV. “It’s stalled at a managerial level. It has nothing to do with the creative or anything else. There’s higher-level things at play.” Replacing it on its September 26 date is The Strangers: Chapter 2 starring Madelaine Petsch returning from last May’s first film. “I promise that we’re making The Strangers: Chapter 2 as terrifying as possible, and I can’t wait to show you on September 26,” Petsch says. Gabriel Basso and Ema Horvath also star, directed by Renny Harlin from Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland’s script.

Producers Mark Canton and Courtney Solomon chimed in with “Like Strangers fans everywhere, we’re thrilled for Chapter 2 — it’s the kind of film that’ll have audiences watching through their fingers. Bringing it to theaters this Halloween season is perfect, and we can’t wait for everyone to see where the story goes next. The film’s other producers include Christopher Milburn, Gary Raskin, Alastair Burlingham and Charlie Dombek and claims Fifth Element as its production company.

However, all is not lost for John Kramer, aka Jigsaw, as Lionsgate shared a cheeky statement from Billy the Puppet, the ventriloquist dummy Kramer deploys “I’ve seen the rumors. They say it’s Game Over. You all should know me better than that. The game is never over.”

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Sources: Deadline, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter (1, 2, 3)