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Short answer: most of these films adapt a franchise’s characters, setting and tournament mythology rather than retelling one numbered game. The 1995 Mortal Kombat comes closest to the original game’s inter-realm tournament. The 1994 Street Fighter, 2009 The Legend of Chun-Li and 2021 Mortal Kombat add substantial original movie stories. The announced 2026 Street Fighter uses a World Warrior Tournament setup associated with the Street Fighter II era, but its official synopsis does not call it a direct adaptation of Street Fighter II.
This guide separates confirmed source material from resemblance, explains each film’s continuity, and shows which game elements were retained, rearranged or invented for cinema.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
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| 1 |
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Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection - Day 1 Edition - PlayStation 5 | $35.06 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (PS5) | $24.96 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Mortal Kombat 1 - PlayStation5 | $22.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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007 First Light - Specialist Edition - PlayStation 5 | $69.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Silent Hill 2 (PS5) | $29.50 | Buy on Amazon |
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At a glance: the game source behind each film
“Based on a video game” can mean several different things. An official synopsis may identify only the broad franchise, while the plot may clearly echo a particular game’s premise. The table below distinguishes an explicitly named game from a recognizable setup and from an original film storyline.
| Film | Year | What it follows | How specific is the connection? | Continuity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Fighter | 1994 | Street Fighter characters and concepts | Franchise-level adaptation; no exact numbered game established | Standalone film |
| Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li | 2009 | Chun-Li and the Street Fighter setting | No authoritative single-game mapping established | Spin-off interpretation |
| Street Fighter | Announced 2026 | World Warrior Tournament, Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li | Closest to the classic Street Fighter II-era framework, but not confirmed as a direct adaptation | New adaptation project |
| Mortal Kombat | 1995 | Earth’s fighters entering an inter-realm tournament | Most closely follows the original game’s central premise | Standalone film continuity |
| Mortal Kombat: Annihilation | 1997 | Characters and events from the 1995 movie | Sequel; no defensible one-game mapping | 1995 film continuity |
| Mortal Kombat | 2021 | Mortal Kombat mythology, clans and tournament conflict | Reboot/reimagining with original protagonist Cole Young | New film continuity |
| Mortal Kombat II | Announced 2026 | The 2021 film’s world and the Ed Boon and John Tobias franchise | Officially franchise-based; no single numbered game named | Direct sequel to the 2021 film |
How to tell whether a movie follows one specific game
Look for an official title or plot reference
The strongest evidence is an official synopsis that names a game, a specific story arc or a distinctive scenario. If the wording says only “based on the video game” or “inspired by the franchise,” it supports a broader adaptation claim, not a one-to-one conversion of a particular release.
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- Multiple Iconic Editions: Experience the legendary origins of Mortal Kombat with the iconic arcade classics along with well loved home versions for Super NES and Sega Genesis. Dive deeper with rare and fan-favorite releases across Game Boy, Game Gear, Sega 32X, Game Boy Advance and more.
- Interactive Documentary: Deep behind-the-scenes content chronicles the history of the franchise, featuring exclusive new interviews with original MK developers Ed Boon, John Tobias, Dan Forden, John Vogel, and dozens more.
- Online Play: Engage in online battles enhanced by rollback netcode— engineered to preserve the precision of every attack, even with players across vast distances.
- The Full Story: Detailed character histories and timelines trace the epic narrative of Earthrealm, Outworld, and Edenia through the arcade era.
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Separate shared characters from shared story
Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Liu Kang or Sonya Blade can appear in a film without the movie reproducing the campaign, stages or chronology of any one game. Fighting-game rosters are designed to support many matchups, so filmmakers often create a new plot that gives those characters a reason to meet.
Check continuity before matching scenes to games
A sequel can continue a movie’s inventions even when the original game had a different sequence of events. Mortal Kombat: Annihilation belongs to the 1995 film series, while Mortal Kombat II continues the 2021 reboot. Treating either as a direct adaptation of a numbered game confuses film continuity with game chronology.
Street Fighter movies
Street Fighter (1994): a franchise adaptation, not a retelling of one game
Universal’s home-video description calls the film “Based on the best-selling video game.” That wording identifies the Street Fighter franchise as the source, but it does not name Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha or any other numbered entry.
The movie’s structure explains why a precise game label is misleading. Jean-Claude Van Damme’s Colonel Guile is the central viewpoint character, and the plot is built as a military ensemble adventure. Guile, Chun-Li, Ryu, Ken, M. Bison, Balrog, Vega and other recognizable figures come from the games, yet their relationships and jobs are rearranged for an original screenplay. The result is best described as a live-action story using Street Fighter characters and concepts.
That distinction matters when comparing it with the arcade games. The film does not simply stage a sequence of selectable fighters progressing through the same tournament ladder. Its emphasis on Guile’s command, a hostage crisis and military operations is movie-original material, even though the names and visual identities are familiar to players.
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- mk11 ultimate features the complete character roster, including new additions rain, mileena & Rambo.
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Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009): a character spin-off without a confirmed game template
This film narrows the focus to Chun-Li and functions as a spin-off in the Street Fighter setting. It is not supported by an authoritative identification of one numbered game as its screenplay source. Calling it an adaptation of Street Fighter II, Street Fighter Alpha or another specific title would therefore overstate what is established.
Its useful comparison point is character perspective rather than game chronology. The movie uses Chun-Li as the lead and draws on the franchise’s criminal and martial-arts mythology, but a familiar character’s backstory is not proof that the film reproduces that character’s exact game campaign. View it as an original origin-style interpretation built from established franchise material.
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Capcom announced a live-action project with Legendary in 2023, and filming was reported to have begun in 2025. Paramount’s official synopsis sets the story in 1993: estranged Street Fighters Ryu and Ken Masters are pulled back into combat when the mysterious Chun-Li recruits them for the next World Warrior Tournament.
The tournament language is the clearest game-specific clue in any Street Fighter film. “World Warrior” is strongly associated with the classic Street Fighter II-era setup, in which fighters from around the world converge for a major competition. However, the synopsis does not say that the film adapts Street Fighter II itself, nor does it promise the game’s exact bracket, endings or chronology.
The safest description is “inspired by the World Warrior tournament framework.” Ryu, Ken and Chun-Li are central, but the film’s 1993 setting, their estrangement and Chun-Li’s recruiting role indicate a newly constructed narrative. Until the filmmakers identify a specific game as the source, it should not be labeled a literal Street Fighter II adaptation.
Rank #3
- A New Universe - Discover a new beginning, as crafted by the Keeper of Time and protector of Earthrealm, Fire God Liu Kang.
- Origins Reimagined - Familiar characters return with all new intertwined histories, interacting in brand new ways.
- New Kameo Fighters - Choose from a unique roster of Kameo fighting partners to assist you in battle.
- Immersive Story Campaign - Fight through a brand new story featuring your favorite Mortal Kombat characters like you’ve never seen them before.
- The Ultimate Fighting Franchise Returns - The Fight for Earthrealm is upon us. This is Mortal Kombat.
Mortal Kombat movies
Mortal Kombat (1995): the closest match to the original game’s premise
Hulu’s catalog synopsis follows Liu Kang, Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade as Earth’s representatives in an ancient martial-arts tournament in which the greatest fighters from each realm battle for control of the universe. That is the defining concept of the original Mortal Kombat game: champions from Earthrealm and other realms meet in a high-stakes tournament.
The film therefore has the clearest one-game connection among the adaptations discussed here. It retains a recognizable playable-character grouping and the inter-realm stakes, while expanding the material into a conventional feature plot. Subplots, dialogue, character motivations and the order in which fighters encounter one another are cinematic additions rather than a scene-by-scene recreation of the arcade game.
“Follows the original game” should consequently be read as a premise-and-roster judgment. The movie captures the reason the tournament exists and who is involved; it does not reproduce every match, finishing move or arcade ending.
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997): a sequel to the movie, not a confirmed adaptation of Mortal Kombat II
Annihilation continues the 1995 film’s story. Available evidence does not establish a defensible mapping to Mortal Kombat II or another single numbered installment, so describing it as a direct adaptation of one game is inaccurate.
The practical way to place it is by continuity: watch the 1995 film first, then Annihilation. Even if viewers recognize game-inspired characters, the sequel’s narrative decisions belong to the film series and should not be used to infer the exact order of events in the games.
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Mortal Kombat (2021): mythology rebuilt around Cole Young
The Central Board of Film Certification describes the reboot as “inspired by the blockbuster video game franchise.” Its plot centers on Cole Young, an MMA fighter hunted by Sub-Zero at Shang Tsung’s direction. Cole Young is an original movie character, not a lead imported from a numbered game.
That new protagonist changes the adaptation category. The film borrows the franchise’s realms, bloodline and tournament mythology, along with familiar fighters and villains, but it is a reboot/reimagining rather than a retelling of the first game. Cole serves as an audience entry point through which the movie can assemble characters and explain the rules without following the arcade roster’s original narrative order.
Because the movie creates a new central hero and rearranges the mythology around him, matching it to Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat II or any one later game misses the point. Its source is the franchise as a whole.
Mortal Kombat II (2026): a continuation of the reboot continuity
New Line Cinema’s official synopsis identifies this film as the next installment after Simon McQuoid’s 2021 movie and says it is “based on the videogame created by Ed Boon and John Tobias.” That wording confirms the franchise’s creators and source, not one exact numbered game.
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Street Fighter versus Mortal Kombat: the key adaptation differences
| Comparison | Street Fighter films | Mortal Kombat films |
|---|---|---|
| Most identifiable game framework | The 2026 film’s World Warrior Tournament resembles the Street Fighter II-era setup. | The 1995 film’s inter-realm tournament most closely matches the original game. |
| Use of original protagonists | The 1994 film makes Guile the central lead; the 2009 film centers on Chun-Li in a new spin-off story. | The 2021 reboot introduces Cole Young as its central viewpoint character. |
| Official specificity | 1994 and 2009 descriptions stay at franchise level; the 2026 synopsis names a tournament but no numbered game. | The 1995 premise maps closely to the first game; 2021 and 2026 descriptions remain franchise-based. |
| Continuity pattern | The announced 2026 project is a new adaptation rather than a continuation of the 1994 or 2009 films. | Annihilation follows the 1995 film, while Mortal Kombat II follows the 2021 reboot. |
| What “faithful” means | Recognition of fighters, rivalries and tournament imagery matters more than reproducing a game campaign. | Realm conflict, tournament stakes and signature characters are the core, with movie-original connective tissue. |
Why fighting-game movies rarely adapt one complete game
The games provide matchups, not a single linear screenplay
Arcade and competitive fighting games are built around repeated one-on-one battles. A player can choose different characters, encounter different opponents and reach character-specific endings. A film must select one protagonist, one sequence of events and one emotional arc, so it inevitably invents connective material.
A large roster needs a narrative viewpoint
Movies cannot give every playable fighter equal story weight. Guile in 1994, Chun-Li in 2009 and Cole Young in 2021 illustrate three solutions: choose a military leader, elevate an existing fighter into a solo lead, or create a new audience surrogate. Those choices make the plot coherent but move it away from any game’s selectable-character structure.
Sequels follow film decisions
Once a movie changes a character’s history or introduces an original hero, its sequel must preserve that internal logic. That is why Annihilation should be read as a sequel to the 1995 movie and Mortal Kombat II as a continuation of the 2021 reboot, regardless of which game elements they reuse.
A practical viewing and game-matching guide
- For the original Mortal Kombat tournament: start with the 1995 Mortal Kombat. It offers the closest film equivalent to the first game’s Earthrealm-versus-other-realms premise.
- For a modern Mortal Kombat reboot: watch the 2021 film, then Mortal Kombat II when released. Treat Cole Young and the rearranged mythology as movie-original continuity.
- For classic Street Fighter characters in a military adventure: choose the 1994 film. Expect franchise characters in an original Guile-led plot, not a direct game campaign.
- For a Chun-Li-centered story: watch the 2009 spin-off, but do not assign it to a specific numbered game without an official source.
- For the World Warrior tournament concept: follow news about the announced 2026 Street Fighter. Its Ryu-Ken-Chun-Li setup is closest to the Street Fighter II era, while the confirmed story remains new.
The bottom line on “which game do they follow?”
The 1995 Mortal Kombat is the strongest case for a movie following one game’s central premise: the original inter-realm tournament. None of the other films has been authoritatively identified as a literal adaptation of one numbered title. The 1994 Street Fighter and 2009 Chun-Li film are franchise-based originals; the 2021 Mortal Kombat is a reboot built around Cole Young; and the announced 2026 films use recognizable game frameworks while maintaining their own movie continuities.
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