UPDATED 11/25 12:25 p.m. ET: While the potential of Paramount purchasing Warner Bros. Discovery gestates, the studio is reportedly looking to revive the Rush Hour franchise after Donald Trump asked about making Rush Hour 4 happen.
As reported by Puck founding partner and journalist Matthew Belloni, Paramount is expected to release Rush Hour 4 with a distribution deal in the works. Director Brett Ratner allegedly asked Trump to speak with Paramount about reviving the franchise. Producer Ben Ammar is also attached to the project, if it does, in fact, go through. It's unclear if Ratner will direct, or leads Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are involved.
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Donald Trump reportedly wants to see Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reunite for another Rush Hour movie.
Warner Bros. Discovery and its studios are currently in the middle of a bidding war, with three major studios entering preliminary bids. The studio, which acquired Rush Hour distributor New Line Cinema in 2008, could soon be owned by either Netflix, Comcast, or Paramount Skydance. Trump is friends with the Ellison family, which owns Paramount Skydance, and Semafor reports that Trump “personally pressed” Paramount to revive Rush Hour if they win the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery.
A person familiar with the discussions between Trump and Paramount said that the President was enthusiastic about making Rush Hour 4 a priority. He also expressed an appreciation for the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme movie Bloodsport, which was originally released by Cannon Films and is now part of the Amazon MGM Studios library.
Film producer Dallas Sonnier predicted that, if Paramount wins the bidding war, there will be “a wave of classically male-driven movies with mentally tough, traditional, courageous, confident heroes. Maybe even a tad cocky, but dedicated to honor and duty. Plus, of course, a few explosions, gun battles, helicopters, fistfights, and car chases!”
The original Rush Hour premiered in 1998 and grossed $245 million at the box office. Brett Ratner directed the movie and its two sequels, which were released in 2001 and 2007. Ratner was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women in 2017, effectively ending his career in Hollywood. That is, however, until he got the green light to make a documentary on Melania Trump for Amazon, which is scheduled to debut next year.
Earlier this year, Jackie Chan indicated that he was ready for a new Rush Hour movie; he’s just waiting for a studio, a script, a director, and Chris Tucker. "I don't know. Ask the director, ask the studio, ask the writer," Chan said. “Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and me [will be] 100 years old. We'll be old men doing Rush Hour."