Paramount will release another Rush Hour sequel after Donald Trump requested it, according to new reports.
The cinematic development comes days after Semafor, citing an insider, reported that Trump pressured Paramount owner Larry Ellison — one of his top financial supporters — to revive the buddy-cop franchise nearly two decades after its last installment came out in an attempt to bring action and comedy movies back to theaters.
Paramount will theatrically distribute the newest action movie on behalf of Warner Bros after WB’s own New Line studio, which made the first three movies, passed on the release, Deadline reported Tuesday. Disgraced director Brett Ratner is attached to direct and produce the movie, which will also see the return of original stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
Rumors of Ratner returning for Rush Hour 4 started circulating last year, but the installment had difficulty finding a home until now. According to Variety, Ratner had shopped Rush Hour 4 to multiple distributors but no one wanted to have their name attached to the movie due to his involvement. Paramount did not immediately return The Independent’s request for comment.
Ratner directed the first three installments in the Rush Hour franchise, the hit trilogy grossing $850 million, before his career came to halt following multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him in 2017, including from actors Olivia Munn and Elliot Page. Ratner, who has denied all allegations against him, previously sued a woman named Melanie Kohler for defamation after she accused him of raping her. The lawsuit was settled in 2018.
Rush Hour 4 will mark Ratner’s first feature film since Hercules, which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in 2014. Although #MeToo briefly sent Ratner away from Hollywood, the embattled filmmaker’s close relationship with the president might have had a hand in bringing him back into the picture: Ratner’s first project since the sexual assault allegations were already set in stone earlier this year with a $40 million Amazon documentary on Melania Trump. The film, which will be out in January, follows the first lady for the 20 days leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration.
The original Rush Hour, released in 1998, was a comedy featuring martial arts and jokes about racial stereotypes as it followed two police officers working together to rescue a Chinese diplomat’s kidnapped daughter. The movie was a huge box office win, and the sequels turned into even bigger commercial successes.
The new installment comes as Paramount, which is run by Ellison’s son David, recently merged with Skydance and is set to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. This means that Paramount beat out bids by Netflix and Comcast to take over the Warner movie catalog and production company. Paramount Skydance settled a lawsuit with Trump earlier this year over a CBS News interview with the president, who reportedly also struck a “side deal” with the Paramount owners.
