According to SFV composer, Fei Long will never return to Street Fighter

It’s a tragic day for street fighter Fans, as one of the series’ most popular supporting characters may not appear in a future game from here. The accident in question is Holiday Longthe fighter heavily based on Bruce Lee who, according to Street Fighter 5 composer Daniel Lindholm, got in the way of a recent change of heart by the Lee family towards humorous portrayals of the famous martial artist.

He brought this up during a Street Fighter 5 music Q&A Youtube live stream in response to a specific question of what they would do with Karen’s issue, which then linked to what they said about Fei Long’s fate had heard.

“I have other sources, not only [from] Capcom, but friends of mine in the US who are very close with the Lee family. You basically said that any kind of resemblance to Mr. Bruce Lee is now dropped for comedic reasons. It must be honorable. That’s why we won’t see Fei Long again. Ye.”

This, if true, is obviously sad news for fans of the character. For those who haven’t had a chance to play around with the fire fist fighter, he was a fun addition to 1993’s Super Street Fighter II, which later returned with the series’ revival in the Super version of Street Fighter 4.

In an apparent homage to Bruce Lee, the character was not typically played for laughs, instead remaining serious and combat-oriented throughout his numerous appearances. He’s not the only fighting game character to take direct inspiration from the notorious martial artist, as Tekken’s Marshal Law also stands out as a shameless (and frankly more comedic) portrayal.

Despite this, there is no official statement as to whether Daniel’s claims are legitimate. We reached out to Capcom to verify these claims, to which a Capcom spokesperson responded, “We do not comment on rumors and/or speculation.” As such, we can only cross our fingers to scour future releases for signs of life from this popular character.

For more Street Fighter articles, check out our impressions of Street Fighter V’s brilliant new graphics mode added in the last major update, as well as our report from earlier this year on Capcom’s licensing agreement and tournament organizers’ reaction.