No Ryu or Ken for Street Fighter film

Our Hollywood Wednesday continues with word that Ryu and Ken will not be in the upcoming Street Fighter film.

Not enough room for them, according to the official movie blog, as this one is about Chun-Li and diverting attention would be unfair on all the characters.

"There are just way too many characters in the Street Fighter universe to cram them all into one film," said producer Patrick Aiello.

"We want to do each one the justice he/she deserves. So, in short, Ken and Ryu will not be appearing in this film. But, that doesn't mean we wont see our red and white-clad heroes in potential sequels..."

The blog went on to put the community brain to rest about the film being a camp ham-up of the iconic fighting game, dismissing images such as Jean-Claude Van Damme in a leotard dancing his little heart out.

"Regarding the tone, I'm pleased to say we are certainly not going for camp or cheese or any kind of laughs," added Aaron Horwitz, blog overlord. "While we're definitely not trying to make the next Citizen Kane, we are going for a somewhat more realistic, gritty, dramatic and, oh yes, action-packed direction than you might expect.

"Now, as a result of this approach, it'd be silly to put Neal McDonough's Bison in a bright red suit and captain's hat with a pair of humongous shoulder pads. It works great in the videogame, but in real life, it just wouldn't look intimidating.

"The same can be said for Balrog. He's an enforcer. A killer. A take-no-shit brawler to the core. And so, how scary would he be on screen if he beat people up with boxing gloves and a pair of blue short-shorts?" added Horwitz.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li is shooting right now in Thailand, and stars Kristin Kreuk from Smallville as the bun-sporting and blue dress-wearing heroine. She's doing rather well, apparently.

"Kristin is doing things you just plain won't believe. I can't count the number of baddies she's dismantled thus far on all my fingers and toes," added Horwitz.