AI Reveals What Final Fight Looks Like As A 70s Movie
Originally released in 1989, "Final Fight" proved to be a popular beat-'em-up upon its debut in arcades. Originally intended to be a sequel to the original "Street Fighter" game, the brutal "Final Fight" revolved around a ragtag gang of fighters — Mike Haggar, Cody Travers, and Guy — who are tasked with rescuing a kidnapped woman. In other words, the series' earliest installments leaned heavily into the Hollywood tropes of the era. These characters, each with wildly different backgrounds and practicing different fighting styles, would later make numerous appearances in both the sequels to "Final Fight" and various Capcom titles, including a number of "Street Fighter" installments.
The "Final Fight" franchise often comes up in conversation among the greatest beat 'em up games of all time, so fans of the games may be wondering why the series never got the Hollywood treatment. After all, such a popular action series deserves a film just as much as "Street Fighter" or "Double Dragon," right? Sure, Cody, Guy, and Mike popped up in a single episode of the "Street Fighter" animated series – in an episode entitled "Final Fight," no less! — but big screen dreams have eluded the franchise.
But what would it look like if a big-budget live-action project had come along much sooner? And what if it were set in a more grim version of the 1970s? Well, thanks to a fan's AI-generated art, we now have a decent idea.
Final Fight gets the AI prequel treatment
Several AI-created images have interpreted what "Final Fight" would look like as a movie made in the 1970s. The images were created using the Midjourney AI art generator and shared to the official Midjourney Facebook page. Since then, the images have also made their way to Twitter, where they've been greatly enjoyed by "Final Fight" fans.
The batch of pictures follows Mike Haggar's journey through the seedy underbelly of the city. The images are surprisingly lifelike, showing high-quality images of Hagger — a former pro wrestler-turned mayor — fighting enemies on the subway, carrying a massive barrel through an alleyway, and talking to a character who looks to be his daughter, Jessica. There's also a truly wild shot of what appears to be Mike eating a contemplative meal in a dirty alleyway.
— DTCNoFsGiven (@DTHECHEMIST) January 15, 2023
Metro City itself looks like a dead ringer for New York City in the 1970s, albeit filtered through a cinematic lens. Here, it's clearly a hard knocks neighborhood plagued by gangs and lawlessness. Think "Taxi Driver" with way more street brawls and you'll have a pretty good idea of what this world looks like.
— DTCNoFsGiven (@DTHECHEMIST) January 15, 2023
The Mad Gear Gang — the villains responsible for kidnapping Jessica in "Final Fight" and generally making trouble for Mike's city — also put in a few appearances. One character featured frequently in the post appears to be Poison, whose signature pink hair is hard to miss. In one memorable AI-generated shot, Poison seems to be on lead vocals at a punk show. The only thing that keeps it from looking like the coolest punk show of all time is the presence of a few extra fingers on Poison's hand (a recurring issue with AI-generated content). The AI prompt even generated a few foreboding shots of Sodom, a Samurai-themed heavy that "Final Fight" fans will surely recognize.
Fans react to this vision of Final Fight
Overall, this AI interpretation of "Final Fight" characters provides an interesting take on the beloved series and offers fans an intriguing peek at what their favorite fighters might have been doing before 1989. In fact, in response to the art, some fans expressed their interest in seeing an actual movie following the adventures of Mike Haggar. Other Twitter users found themselves going wild over Poison's hair and wardrobe, while some found themselves mesmerized by the "slightly deformed, hyper muscular" physiques of the characters in the images. At least one Twitter user expressed their wariness towards AI-generated art, but was nonetheless fascinated by these results.
For the folks who loved this peek at an alternate universe in which "Final Fight" became a successful 1970s film, it appears there may be more on the way, given that the original post is subtitled "Part I." It's unclear at this time if the next series of images will jump to a whole new decade, but curious "Final Fight" fans may want to keep their eyes peeled.
Until Hollywood finally comes calling, the closest fans have gotten to a movie adaptation is 2018's "The Broken Gear: A Final Fight Film." This fan film from The Game Basement stars noted MMA fighter Don Frye in the role of Mike Haggar and has received rave responses from fans of the games.