Donald Trump is reportedly pressuring Paramount studios for a fourth instalment of his favorite film franchise... And it could be yet another sign of the president trying to tighten his grip on what he wants culture to be.
We did not have this one on our 2025 Bingo cards...
Having successfully put an end to numerous wars and solved all the conflicts he promised to rapidly stop, including the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (let’s not get bogged down with technicalities), Donald Trump is turning his attention to what matters. The President of the United States has reportedly taken the time to push for a revival of his favourite buddy cop action-comedy franchise.
According to a Semafor report, which cites “a person directly familiar with the conversations,” Trump “personally pressed” Oracle executive chairman Larry Ellison - the world’s second-richest man and one of Trump’s biggest financial donors - to revive the Rush Hour series.
The president apparently wants to see more 80s-90s style, male-driven action movies being made, with plenty of explosions, car chases and outdated jokes. Rush Hour 4 ticks all the boxes.
The original trilogy (1998 – 2007) starred Chris Tucker as James Carter from the LAPD and martial arts legend Jackie Chan as Chief Inspector Lee from the Hong Kong Police Force. Both officers relunctantly teamed up for plenty of fistfights and broad humour, including problematic sexual gags and a heaping dose of racial stereotypes.
All three films were directed by Brett Ratner, who has faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct over the years – including from a former talent agency employee who accused him of rape, as well as sexual assault and harrassment accusations from performers Olivia Munn, Natasha Henstridge and Elliot Page.
Warner Bros. took these allegations seriously and cut ties with the director in 2017.
Since then, Ratner has been persona non grata in Hollywood and immigrated to Israel in 2023, as the director is reputedly friendly with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He is attempting something of a “comeback”, having directed a documentary about Melania Trump, who also serves as exec producer on the project Amazon reportedly paid $40 million for. The doc, which sounds like a soft-focus puff piece on the First Lady, airs on Amazon Prime Video in January 2026.
So, is this Rush Hour 4 demand simply another petulant call from Trump or does it hide something more problematic?
Well, there’s every chance that Trump’s cinematic request could become a reality. Ellison’s son David is reportedly in control of Paramount after completing a merger between Skydance and Paramount earlier this year. Ellison is also poised to take over Warner Bros. Discovery, using his fortune to outbid the likes of Netflix and Comcast to acquire Warner’s giant movie catalogue and production.
And when you consider that White House officials have reportedly spoken with Larry Ellison about firing anchors Trump isn’t a fan of at CNN, which is part of the Warner portfolio, it seems like the empire the Ellisons are building will gladly kowtow to the cultural preferences of the cinephile in chief. Especially since they need regulatory approval for the Warner deal.
With Trump's connections enabling his troubling influence on the media landscape in mind, the question isn’t whether or not we’re getting a Trump-mandated Rush Hour 4. The question is: Will he settle for an executive producer role or worse, a Home Alone 2 shaped cameo?
One thing’s for sure: Following his glorified Melania plug, the embattled Brett Ratner may find himself busy once more, delivering the completely sought-after and not at all obsolete thrills only a fourth Rush Hour film can deliver.
