‘Rush Hour 4’ in the works at Paramount after reported Trump intervention

Paramount is moving ahead with Rush Hour 4 — a project long stuck in development limbo — after reported intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump helped push the sequel across the finish line. The studio has agreed to distribute the film, directed by Brett Ratner, marking the filmmaker’s first major Hollywood outing since multiple allegations of sexual misconduct derailed his career in 2017.

According to industry reporting, Trump personally lobbied his ally Larry Ellison — now the largest shareholder in the newly restructured Paramount-Skydance — to revive the Jackie Chan–Chris Tucker franchise. The move follows the conglomerate’s settlement earlier this year of a lawsuit Trump filed over a critical CBS News interview. Paramount has secured financing and will handle distribution on behalf of Warner Bros., which released the original trilogy through New Line but declined to oversee the new instalment.

Ratner, who spent years unsuccessfully shopping the sequel around town, now returns to the franchise that once launched him to blockbuster status. His involvement is already controversial. In 2017, multiple women accused the director of sexual assault and harassment; one accuser, Melanie Kohler, later settled a defamation suit with Ratner. He has since kept a low profile, resurfacing most recently with a big-budget documentary about Melania Trump set for release in January.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are expected to reprise their roles, reuniting for the first time since Rush Hour 3 bowed in 2007. The original trilogy grossed more than $850 million worldwide and became a major box office force in China — a market studios continue to aggressively court.

The revival is also being viewed in political terms. Reports suggest the project aligns with Trump’s broader second-term cultural agenda, which includes promoting what his circle describes as “traditional masculinity” in Hollywood. The former president has recently tapped actors such as Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson as informal ambassadors to the industry.