Trump Urges Rush Hour 4 Revival Through Ellison

President Donald Trump has urged the revival of the "Rush Hour" film franchise, pressing Oracle CEO Larry Ellison to greenlight a fourth installment through Paramount Global, according to sources familiar with the discussions. The move comes as Paramount, recently merged with Skydance Media in a deal backed by Ellison, explores acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of New Line Cinema, which produced the original trilogy.

The proposed "Rush Hour 4" would reunite stars Jackie Chan, now 71, and Chris Tucker, 54, in the buddy-cop action comedy series that debuted in 1998. The films follow Chan's Hong Kong inspector partnering with Tucker's brash Los Angeles detective to resolve international crimes, including the abduction of a diplomat's daughter in the first entry. Development on a sequel has stalled since at least 2019, largely due to challenges in securing a distributor willing to work with director Brett Ratner.

Ratner, who helmed all three previous "Rush Hour" movies, faced credible accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment from six women in 2017 amid the #MeToo movement. Those allegations led major studios, including Warner Bros., to sever ties with him....