50 Cent’s ‘Street Fighter’ Run, Explained: Balrog, Jay-Z and the Eminem-2Pac Theme

50 Cent has a movie out in a week, and he is selling it the only way he knows: loudly, with a shot at Jay-Z on the side. In Street Fighter, the Capcom adaptation that opens in U.S. theaters Friday (Oct. 16), Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson plays Balrog, the series’ brawling boxer. On the promo trail he talked training and villainy with his co-star Andrew Schulz for Interview, in a conversation published Friday (Oct. 9), then told TODAY that Hov would perform at his wedding. Here’s what to know.

Who is Balrog?

A disgraced boxer who works for M. Bison’s organization, Shadaloo. He debuted in 1991’s Street Fighter II: The World Warrior as a Mike Tyson homage: in Japan the character is called M. Bison, and Capcom rotated three of its boss names for the English release, partly to avoid legal trouble over a “Mike Bison,” Wikipedia) notes. 50 knows the lineage. “When they made the character, they were basing it on Mike [Tyson],” he told Schulz.

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He trained hard enough to skip a stunt double in the ring, Billboard reported, citing The Hollywood Reporter. “I’m training twice a day because they want to see abs, bro,” he told Schulz. “I’m running, boxing in the morning, then the cryo thing, and then weightlifting.” Asked what makes a great villain, he needed three words: “Lack of information.”

What’s the movie?

Kitao Sakurai, who directed 62 of the 68 episodes of The Eric Andre Show and the hidden-camera comedy Bad Trip, made it for Legendary and Capcom, and Paramount is releasing it. The story is set in 1993: Chun-Li (Callina Liang) recruits two estranged fighters, Ryu (Andrew Koji) and Ken Masters (Noah Centineo), for the World Warrior Tournament.

The rest of the roster reads like a wrestling card crossed with a comedy lineup: Jason Momoa as Blanka, David Dastmalchian as M. Bison, WWE’s Cody Rhodes as Guile and Roman Reigns as Akuma, the country singer Orville Peck as Vega, Schulz as Dan Hibiki and Eric André as the ring announcer, Don Sauvage. Balrog gets two scenes in the trailer Paramount released on Sept. 1, Billboard noted: one where he beats up Ken in a boxing ring, and one where he heads into a club in a suit, M-shaped hairline intact. Watch it below.

Street Fighter | New Trailer (2026 Movie)Paramount Pictures · Watch on YouTube ↗

What did he say about Jay-Z?

Near the end of the Interview conversation, Schulz asked, laughing, whether 50 knew the producers “first went out to Jay-Z for the Balrog character.” Schulz offered no evidence, and 50 wasn’t having it. “Ain’t no motherf—ing way. No, bro,” he said, as Billboard transcribed it. “He is not working out for nothing. They can’t pay him enough to do some sh– like that.”

That came right after a riff on Roc Nation’s months-long celebration of 30 years of Reasonable Doubt, which took in three Yankee Stadium shows and an eight-part HBO docuseries, per Complex. 50 pointed out that the album debuted at No. 23. “Why is it a big deal now?” he asked. “It’s great marketing.”

In a separate TODAY interview, asked who would perform at his wedding, he named Hov anyway: “Jay-Z is gonna do my wedding, he’s gonna perform. Him, Kanye too.” Watch it below.

50 Cent Talks About His Role in the Live-Action ‘Street Fighter’ FilmTODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle · Watch on YouTube ↗

What happened to the Eminem and 2Pac song?

On TODAY in July, 50 said he had a track with Eminem and 2Pac, approved by 2Pac’s estate and built on his real vocals, not AI. “They delivered it. It’s for the theme of Street Fighter, the movie. We worked on it and got it right,” he said, and promised it was “coming out shortly,” per Billboard.

It isn’t on the official soundtrack. The full 39-track list, which Billboard revealed on Sept. 30, is mostly Leo Birenberg and Zach Robinson’s score, plus two songs the industrial metal band HEALTH wrote for the film, “NEGATIVE EDGE” and “BRAINROT.” The album is out Oct. 16 on Milan Records. Its lead single is the composers’ guitar-and-orchestra take on “Guile’s Theme.” As young composers, they said in a statement, “we listened to Yoko Shimomura’s iconic ‘Guile’s Theme’ probably more than Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

Guile’s ThemeLeo Birenberg & Zach RobinsonListen on Apple Music

What’s next?

Street Fighter opens in U.S. theaters, including IMAX, on Oct. 16. 50 already has his next fight lined up: he told Schulz he has a project with Chad Stahelski, the director of John Wick. “I love action films, bro,” he said. “For me, the action film is the only movie where I can know who’s not going to die.”