Mortal Kombat's Ludi Lin Weighs In on Street Fighter Rivalry

Ludi Lin, the actor portraying Liu Kang in the Mortal Kombat film series, recently offered his thoughts on the rivalry with Street Fighter. This discussion took place during an IGN interview, coinciding with the release of the latest Street Fighter movie trailer. Lin clarified that the perceived animosity between the two iconic franchises is largely overblown.

However, the actor did not hold back his criticism for one individual: Andrew Schulz, who plays Dan Hibiki in the upcoming Street Fighter film. Lin referenced the 2025 Game Awards, where the comedian claimed the Mortal Kombat team “only care about money,” excusing their absence from the award show.

During that event, Schulz began by saying: “We’re not the only game that appreciates your patronage. There’s another game out there, they also flew from around the world to be here because they appreciate you. So give it up for the whole cast of Mortal Kombat 2!” The audience applauded, anticipating the Mortal Kombat 2 cast, but Schulz then revealed the truth.

“I’m just kidding. They didn’t come. They don’t care about you. They only care about money. We care about money AND you. Street Fighter FOREVER!” Schulz declared. Ludi Lin responded to this directly: “Andrew Schulz. Just lay off the fans man. That last Game Awards… it’s fine to throw shade on us. I think the fans were excited, if we were there, to have everyone on stage. Just watch out. Don’t make the fans angry.”

The rivalry is fun and I want to continue it, I think it can be used in a way that makes both cinematic universes better.

The Chinese-Canadian actor is a massive fan of the Street Fighter games. He even shared that his role in the Black Mirror episode “Striking Vipers” “was totally an homage to Street Fighter.” Lin believes that performance was “closer to Street Fighter than Mortal Kombat.”

Lin also gave a shout-out to his Mortal Kombat co-star, Mel Jarnson. She has gone on to play Cammy in the upcoming Street Fighter film. “I’m very proud of her,” Lin stated. The actor hopes that “they get it right” with the new adaptation. “The rivalry is fun and I want to continue it, I think it can be used in a way that makes both cinematic universes better. We’re going to share a lot of fans and make them both happy.”

We also asked Ludi Lin about the potential for the two series to ever cross over in film form. “That’s a really interesting question,” he answered. “Now that there’s a pending sale of Warner Bros over to Paramount who’s doing Street Fighter, it’s very possible. It’d be so much fun. But tonally I feel like they’re very different movies. But I don’t know. Let’s just live in this moment for now.”

Capping off the interview, Ludi Lin delivered his verdict on a hypothetical Mortal Kombat versus Street Fighter showdown. With a perhaps unsurprising pick, he affirmed: “If I’m going to put my money on it, I would bet the house on Mortal Kombat.”