Paramount Will Distribute Next RUSH HOUR and It’s Messy

by

By the late 1990s, Jackie Chan, a hugely popular action star, had finally gained a foothold in North American cinemas. After films like Rumble in the Bronx (1995), First Strike (1996), and Mr. Nice Guy (1997), he landed the lead role in a big American action comedy: Rush Hour (1998), alongside Chris Tucker. (Interestingly, Eddie Murphy later said he wished he’d taken that role!) Rush Hour‘s success spawned two sequels and opened the door for Chan to star in several other English-language action comedies, though with mixed results.

After nearly 20 years, a fourth Rush Hour movie is coming to theaters. However, making this new film is proving more complicated due to changes in both the entertainment industry and the current political environment.

Breaking news: Deadline reports that Paramount will now distribute the next Rush Hour film. Previously, Warner Bros. handled distribution for the first three movies. According to Deadline, Paramount is taking on this role for Warner Bros. in exchange for a percentage of the profits. This is interesting because Paramount, under the ownership of David Ellison, is currently trying to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.

Several film studios, including New Line and Warner Bros., have decided not to distribute a fourth Rush Hour movie. This may be connected to the film’s director, Brett Ratner, who also directed and produced the first three films through his production company, RatPac. In 2017, Ratner faced accusations of sexual assault, and while he filed a defamation lawsuit in 2018, the case was ultimately settled privately.

Brett Ratner’s most recent movie was the 2014 film Hercules, featuring Dwayne Johnson. He recently directed a documentary about Melania Trump that Amazon MGM Studios purchased for $40 million, and it will be released in theaters on January 30th. Interestingly, reports from Semafor indicate that President Donald Trump is a big fan of the Rush Hour film series.

Donald Trump is close friends with Larry Ellison, one of the world’s wealthiest people and the father of Paramount Pictures owner, David Ellison. Reports suggest Trump encouraged Ellison to focus on action movies traditionally geared towards male audiences, specifically mentioning the Rush Hour films. Interestingly, those films were directed by the filmmaker who recently produced a favorable documentary about the First Lady. If Ellison succeeds in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery, he could have the President influencing his movie choices – despite Ellison’s denials that he’s receiving funding from Saudi Arabia for the deal.

Honestly, it’s complicated when you admire someone like Jackie Chan, but then you learn about his political views. He built his career in Hong Kong, but in recent years, he’s become a strong supporter of the Beijing government, even saying those who wanted Hong Kong to stay democratic should be quiet. It’s a tough pill to swallow when you remember enjoying him in American films like The Karate Kid or even voicing Splinter in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. And it’s not just that he continues to do those roles, he actively makes films specifically for audiences in mainland China, and those films are pretty clearly designed to support the government’s agenda.

Unfortunately, a fourth Rush Hour movie isn’t as thrilling an idea as it once was.

Kyle Anderson is a Senior Editor at TopMob and the host of the weekly podcast, Laser Focus, where he dives deep into pop culture. He also writes film and TV reviews, and you can find him on Letterboxd.

Read More

2025-11-25 23:03