Donald Trump reportedly lobbying Paramount for more Rush Hour

The outlet reports that as Ellison looks to scoop up Warner Bros. Discovery, the president has taken to offering more input on the creative side of the business, and he wants to see more of what he already likes. And what he likes is Bloodsport, the Jean-Claude Van Damme flick from 1988, and, of course, Rush Hour. But there are other reasons that Semafor speculates Trump might be so hooked on that film beyond nostalgia for 1998. The outlet points to stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker remaining relatively friendly to Trump, as well as the potential you-could-never-make-this-today racial humor as selling points. All three films in the series were also directed by Brett Ratner, who was accused by multiple women of sexual misconduct at the height of #MeToo visibility in 2017 but has since tried to stage a bit of a comeback, working on a Melania Trump documentary for Prime Video earlier this year. 

It sounds like Trump isn’t the only one fiending for more Rush Hour, either. Last year, we reported on a meeting at Lionsgate where the idea of a Ratner-directed Rush Hour 4 was floated at a July 2024 greenlight meeting. At that time, The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Warner Bros., the longtime distributor of the franchise, had allowed the film to be licensed elsewhere, which could have potentially brought the property to Lionsgate’s door. Last year, Ratner’s involvement was a non-starter for Paramount. Apparently, time will tell whether it still is.