I've been bombarded with emails from game/movie fangeeks about a rumor floating around out there that Jessica Biel is up for the role of Chun Li in 20th Century Fox's forthcoming Street Fighter movie, based on the megahit classic video game: Biel a Street Fighter? For those unfamiliar with the game, Chun Li is the high-flying combatant from China, known for her spinning helicopter kick (yes, I gave my fair share of quarters to Street Fighter in the nineties). She's Chinese. And as far as I know, Jessica Biel is not. She is not one of our long lost Asian sisters... not that such issues matter to Hollywood, as history has shown. Will they go the yellowface route? Will they simply revise Chun Li's backstory? I think I echo most of the fan reaction I've seen: as attractive as Jessica Biel is, if she plays Chun Li it's going to be ridiculous.
Of course, to me, the definitive Street Fighter movie will be the 1994 disaster starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia. Possibly one of the worst movies ever made. Ming-Na played Chun Li in that one—a highlight of her career, no doubt.