We’re Getting Rush Hour 4 Thanks to Donald Trump

From the president nobody likes and a director nobody trusts comes a movie nobody wants, as Rush Hour 4 is suddenly moving forward.

We’re getting Rush Hour 4, apparently, with outlets from the AV Club to Puck reporting that Paramount is close to inking a deal to distribute the sequel. What’s odd is that this news comes after President of the United States Donald J. Trump reportedly encouraged Paramount Skydance owner and close ally Larry Ellison to revive the franchise. So there’s that.

Trump, who recently bulldozed the East Wing of the White House, which contained the White House Family Theatre, is reportedly a fan of the franchise. He also quite likes the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme martial arts banger Bloodsport, as long as someone fast forwards through the boring bits for him. And he apparently likes director Brett Ratner, who broke through into the A list after directing Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the original Rush Hour in 1998.

Ratner, whose last feature film was 2014’s Hercules starring Dwayne Johnson, is currently putting the finishing touches on Melania, a documentary about the First Lady, Melania Trump. Prime Video stumped up $40m to license the streaming rights, which strikes me as a tad high for a puff piece on a woman who’s said maybe 17 words in public in the past year, but I digress.

It’s been a long time between drinks for Ratner, though, and the reason for that is a swathe of women accused him of sexual assault in 2017, including Olivia Munn and Natasha Henstridge. While he was never charged with a crime, Ratner’s career was left in tatters. He emigrated to Israel in 2023, where he is reportedly friendly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. So there’s a few dots to connect there, if you feel up to it.

According to Semafor, Trump “personally pressed” Ellison to revive the buddy comedy franchise. To that end, Paramount will distribute the film, but won’t finance it, with producer Arthur Sarkissian now out trying to drum up financing.

Whether this weirdness becomes reality is doubtful, though, for reasons far more pragmatic for political. For one thing, Jackie Chan is 71 years old. The days in which the old master performed all his own stunts are long past, so there’s fully two thirds of the entire appeal gone right there. Meanwhile Tucker, a relatively spry 54, hasn’t headlined a film since 2007’s Rush Hour 3. Putting aside the fact that you’d hope they wouldn’t want to work with an accused rapist, they’re not exactly box office gold these days. Unless, of course, box office is secondary to cronyism here, but that would be crazy.

But it is interesting to note that Paramount Skydance is currently in the process of trying to buy Warner Brothers Discovery lock, stock, and barrel – a move that will require regulatory approval. And, let’s face it – pulling the trigger on a new instalment of the President’s favourite chop-socky franchise couldn’t hurt their chances.