After Years in the Wilderness, Rush Hour 4 Rises Again
Rush Hour 4 is finally back on the production track with Paramount Pictures clearing way for the mega-blockbuster franchise to forge ahead after years of stagnation. The unexpected revival is said to come after Donald Trump stepped in and managed to get financing (that had been bogged down for awhile) for the film approved and its production back on track.
The original trilogy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker was the brainchild of director Brett Ratner, who shelved No 4 after he found himself accused of sexual misconduct by numerous women at the height of the #MeToo movement. These allegations brought his Hollywood career to a standstill and the project went unsupported by studio -despite the continuing worldwide popularity of the franchise.
The revived interest on Rush Hour 4 is said to have come about after Trump suggested the movie to tech billionaire Larry Ellison, Paramount’s largest stockholder. After Trump became involved, Ratner was able to raise production money and signed a distribution deal with Warner Bros to finally get the long-gestating sequel off the ground. For viewers, it’s the return of one of the most popular action-comedy series of all time.
A Controversial Comeback for Brett Ratner’s Museum Star power in any field can take you a long way.
Ratner’s return alone is poised to become hard-to-ignore news, given the nature of the allegations that caused him to step aside. Several women had accused the director of sexual harassment and misconduct, including one allegation of rape. Ratner denied the allegations and later reached a settlement in a defamation lawsuit that centered on one of the accusers, but the accusations took an enormous professional toll.
The commercial merits of the franchise clearly seems to have outweighed its potential risks for the studios despite the earlier controversies. The first three Rush Hour movies collectively grossed over $850 million worldwide, and found even greater success in China; the franchise has been rediscovered by new fans through streaming. This international pull has led to considerable industry confidence in the financial incentive for a fourth film.
The revival also speaks to what many perceive as a reordering of the internal Hollywood dynamic. Trump’s increasing sway in entertainment circles and his defense of Ratner indicate a larger trend to rehabilitate those who saw their careers derailed by industrywide scandals. Some read this as an embrace of financial opportunity and relationships over reputational risk.
What the Revival Says About the Franchise
Audience Rush Hour 4 will mark the reunion of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and they plan to harmonize once again for one heavy-leveled action comedy film that was highly favoured by the audience. But for critics, the decision has raised questions about accountability, power and Hollywood’s readiness to embrace once-controversial figures again.
Either way, the fact that Rush Hour 4 is back indicates a pretty big moment — not just for the franchise itself but also for an industry in flux.
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