After years of uncertainty, Rush Hour 4, starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan is officially back in motion, returning to life at Paramount. The long-delayed sequel has finally secured studio backing and distribution, reportedly following intervention from American President Donald Trump on behalf of filmmaker Brett Ratner, who has been attempting to revive the Jackie Chan–Chris Tucker franchise since stepping away from Hollywood amid multiple sexual misconduct allegations during the #MeToo era.
Brett recently stepped back behind the camera to direct a $40 million documentary on Melania Trump for Amazon MGM Studios, owned by Jeff Bezos—another figure who has maintained amicable ties with Trump. The documentary is scheduled for a theatrical release in January, next year.
The 56-year-old maker spent several years trying to finance and place the project, but studios repeatedly passed on it. However, according to latest reports, the tide turned when the US President lobbied his friend and political supporter Larry Ellison, the principal shareholder of the newly formed Paramount Skydance. The company, previously known as Paramount Global, only earlier this year settled a lawsuit with Trump related to a contentious CBS News interview.
{{/usCountry}}The 56-year-old maker spent several years trying to finance and place the project, but studios repeatedly passed on it. However, according to latest reports, the tide turned when the US President lobbied his friend and political supporter Larry Ellison, the principal shareholder of the newly formed Paramount Skydance. The company, previously known as Paramount Global, only earlier this year settled a lawsuit with Trump related to a contentious CBS News interview.
{{/usCountry}}Reports further suggest that Paramount has now arranged funding for the film and worked out a distribution agreement with Warner Bros—home to the franchise under its New Line Cinema banner during its original run.
The original Rush Hour trilogy grossed more than $850 million globally and became a massive box-office draw, particularly in China. The project is now widely viewed as aligned with Donald Trump’s second-term push to reassert traditional masculinity in Hollywood, a campaign that has included appointing Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson as informal “special ambassadors” to the entertainment industry.
Earlier this year, while promoting Karate Kid: Legends, 71-year-old Jackie Chan reflected on his experience making the original trilogy. “Ask the director, ask the studio, ask the writer. Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and me [will be] 100 years old. We’ll be old men doing Rush Hour,” he was quoted as saying.