MW In pushing for 'Rush Hour 4,' Trump is acting like a shadow executive producer
By Lukas I. Alpert
The president has pushed his allies at Paramount to get the film made and has even given director Brett Ratner a lift to China on Air Force One to scout for locations
The 'Rush Hour' franchise, starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, has been dormant since 2007, but President Trump has been pushing to get a fourth installment made.
Donald Trump has many titles, including commander in chief, POTUS and simply, The Donald. But when it comes to the film project "Rush Hour 4," he may well be earning an executive producer credit.
In traveling to Beijing on Wednesday for a high-stakes summit with China's leadership, the president brought director Brett Ratner along as part of the U.S. delegation aboard Air Force One. Ratner's spokeswoman said the director joined the trip to scout out locations in China for the movie, which is expected to begin filming next year.
Other dignitaries to take part in the trip included major business leaders like Apple $(AAPL)$ CEO Tim Cook, Goldman Sachs( GS) head David Solomon and Tesla $(TSLA)$ and Space X leader Elon Musk.
Read more: What CEOs from Tesla, Nvidia and over a dozen other companies hope to gain by joining Trump in China
The film's stars, Jackie Chan, 72, and Chris Tucker, 54, are reportedly in negotiations to reprise their roles in the new film, which is tentatively scheduled to be released in 2028.
It wouldn't be the first time Trump has thrown his influence behind reviving the buddy-cop franchise, which he has reportedly said is one of his favorites. Late last year, he reportedly pressed his allies Larry and David Ellison, the new owners of Paramount Skydance $(PSKY)$, to help get the movie made.
At the time, it was reported that Paramount would distribute the movie for a fee and not provide financing. Paramount is counting on support from the White House to close its acquisition of rival Warner Bros. Discovery $(WBD)$.
Ratner's ties to the Trump family run deep. He was tapped to direct "Melania," a documentary focused on first lady Melania Trump, which hit theaters earlier this year after being acquired by Amazon for an eye-popping $40 million.
Amazon (AMZN) plunked an additional $35 million into promoting the film, which many critics viewed as part of an effort by the tech giant to curry favor with Trump. The film earned $16.6 million at the box office, an admirable haul for a documentary, but nowhere near paying back Amazon's investment.
It's been 19 years since "Rush Hour 3" hit the silver screen in 2007, but Ratner and its producers have reportedly been shopping around a sequel ever since.
Ratner, 57, was once a top Hollywood filmmaker, but hasn't made a feature film since 2017, when his career was derailed by allegations of sexual abuse. Ratner denied the claims at the time.
In January, Ratner told the Hollywood Reporter that he had not viewed making "Melania" as a step toward relaunching his career.
"That's ridiculous," he said. "If anything, this was a bigger risk because of the polarization and subject matter. I didn't do this to get me back into Hollywood. That wasn't my strategy. I've been waiting to make 'Rush Hour 4' - that was my strategy."
-Lukas I. Alpert
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May 13, 2026 12:52 ET (16:52 GMT)
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