‘Rush Hour 4’ In Development At Paramount

Following a report earlier this week that Donald Trump, the mogul and 45th/47th President of the United States, is pushing Paramount Pictures and its owners, the Ellison family to develop a fourth Rush Hour movie with director Brett Ratner, it seems the studio has caved and Rush Hour 4 is officially in development.

It seems Donald Trump’s affection for the franchise comes from his connection to director Brett Ratner, who recently directed a $40M Melania Trump documentary, titled Melania, for Amazon MGM Studios, which brought the director and politician close together. Now, Paramount Pictures is collaborating with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop the film, where Paramount will be “paid a flat distribution fee” (per Variety) to develop the film, while WB will get “first-dollar gross, meaning the studio receives a percentage of box office revenues before the financiers recoup any costs.”

The Rush Hour franchise has been dormant since the #MeToo movement, in which Ratner was embroiled in controversy following several sexual assault allegations by high-profile talent in the industry. Rush Hour 4 will be his first feature film since 2014’s Hercules, which starred Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The director currently resides in Israel, where he is also friends with the country’s leader, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rush Hour followed two police officers (Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker), in a buddy comedy format, who are tasked with rescuing the daughter of a Chinese diplomat and are forced to work together. Apart from Chan and Tucker, the franchise has previously starred Tom Wilkinson, Philip Baker Hall, Hiroyuki Sanada, and Roman Polanski, making it one of the more star-studded buddy-comedy franchises from the era.

Rush Hour 4 will be directed by Brett Ratner. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are expected to return.

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