President Donald Trump has reportedly been pressuring Hollywood executives to revive the beloved “Rush Hour” franchise, marking an unexpected shift in his typically combative stance toward China to embrace one of the country’s biggest movie stars.
According to sources Semafor spoke to, the president-elect has been lobbying Paramount Skydance’s largest shareholder Larry Ellison to greenlight a fourth installment of the police comedy series starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.
The move represents a fascinating contradiction for Trump, whose brand of politics has largely been about confronting China through trade wars and diplomatic confrontation. Ellison’s company, which settled a $16 million lawsuit against Trump earlier this year over his “60 Minutes” interview, has reportedly embraced the commander-in-chief’s Hollywood ambitions.
The revival of “Rush Hour” appears to be central to Trump’s broader vision of reinjecting what he calls “old-fashioned masculinity” into American cinema.
The series, which ran for three films from 1998 to 2007 and earned more than $850 million worldwide, paired Tucker’s LAPD detective James Carter with Jackie Chan’s Hong Kong detective Lee in a series of culture-clash comedies.
The films blended martial arts action and police humor while showcasing both American and Chinese sensibilities and became a cultural phenomenon.
Brett Ratner, who directed all three original Rush Hour movies, has been tapped to direct and produce the fourth film. However, Ratner’s involvement has been controversial since 2017, when multiple women accused him of sexual assault, allegations he denied.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, his love for Rush Hour 4 was “a non-starter for multiple studios, including Paramount and Sony.” Despite these obstacles, Ratner recently completed a $40 million documentary about Melania Trump for Amazon, suggesting that his return to Hollywood may gain momentum under the new administration.
The timing of Trump’s “Rush Hour” plan has raised concerns, given his historically contentious relationship with China. Throughout his presidency, Trump has portrayed China as the United States’ main economic and strategic competitor, imposing tariffs and other trade restrictions that have strained bilateral relations.
Yet his enthusiasm for reviving the film franchise starring Jackie Chan, one of China’s best-known cultural ambassadors, shows a willingness to separate entertainment from geopolitics.
Mr. Chen has been an outspoken supporter of the Chinese government and critical of Western democracy, embodying the very Chinese influence that Mr. Trump has previously opposed.
Donald Trump has been hard at work on Rush Hour 4 for months, with both Jackie Chan and Tucker expressing interest in reprising their iconic roles.
