Paramount Pictures is moving forward with Rush Hour 4, with Brett Ratner set to return as director, according to industry sources. The project reportedly gained momentum after former President Donald Trump lobbied his friend and tech billionaire Larry Ellison, a major stakeholder in Paramount Skydance, to support the film.
Ratner, whose career stalled after multiple sexual misconduct allegations during the #MeToo era, had struggled for years to secure funding for the sequel starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Puck’s Matthew Belloni reports that Paramount has now finalized financing and reached a distribution deal with Warner Bros, the franchise’s former home under New Line.
ALSO READ: Stranger Things: Netflix promotes final season with bike rides, product blitz
Ratner faced accusations of sexual assault in 2017, which derailed his career. He later sued Melanie Kohler, a former talent agency employee who alleged he had assaulted her, for defamation; the two settled in 2018. At the time, Kohler said she hoped Ratner would be “held accountable for the way he’s treated the nobodies of the world or at least the way he treated me.”
The Rush Hour franchise has been a global box office success, with the first three films grossing over $850 million worldwide and enjoying particular popularity in China.
Industry observers see the revival as part of Trump’s broader influence in Hollywood, including his promotion of actors like Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight, and Mel Gibson as informal “ambassadors” of traditional Hollywood masculinity.