Sponsored

Action Fans Can Thank The President For Upcoming Movie Sequel

By No Comments
Jackie Chan
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

A new sequel to a beloved action franchise is coming to theaters soon, and fans have President Donald Trump to thank for it.

Deadline reported Tuesday that Paramount will handle the release of the upcoming film “Rush Hour 4,” on behalf of Warner Bros. Discovery.

The fourth entry is expected to bring back Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, with longtime franchise director Brett Ratner also anticipated to return.

The announcement came shortly after Semafor published a story on Sunday indicating that Trump had spoken with Paramount’s owner, David Ellison, whose father, Larry Ellison, has been a major donor, regarding the possibility of bringing back the series.

According to the outlet, “Trump appears to want to revive the raucous comedies and action movies of the late 1980s to late 1990s.”

The report also stated, “He’s passionate, for instance, about the 1988 Jean-Claude Van Damme sports flick ‘Bloodsport.’”

Semafor further relayed that a source with direct knowledge claimed the president “has personally pressed the Paramount owner to revive another franchise from Ratner: ‘Rush Hour,’ a buddy-cop comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker that blended physical comedy, martial arts and gags about racial stereotypes.”

Ratner, who led all three previous installments, recently collaborated with the Trump family when he directed a documentary about first lady Melania Trump.

That project, filmed shortly before the 2025 inauguration, is expected to debut in January.

Arthur M. Sarkissian, producer of the first three “Rush Hour” movies, also produced a 2024 documentary about the president called “The Man You Don’t Know” through Global Ascension Studios.

Released ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the film attempted to provide “fresh perspectives” on Trump by featuring commentary from relatives and acquaintances.

Semafor noted that the franchise features Chan and Tucker, who were two of the very few Hollywood stars that never spoke out against Trump.

In 2016, after Trump’s initial victory, Chan said people should give the new president “a chance to try to change America and change the world.”

“He’s a businessman…I think he knows how to handle these types of things,” he told Yahoo Celebrity.

Tucker offered similar sentiments in a 2018 interview on “Good Morning Britain,” stating he hoped Trump “does a good job” and adding that he would “pray for him.”

“I hope he does a good job because, listen, we need a great president. We need a lot of things to happen in our country, in America,” Tucker added.

“I hope he does good. I hope tomorrow he wakes up and does the right thing.”

The original “Rush Hour” became a major global hit, generating more than $245 million worldwide and kicking off one of the most recognizable action franchises of its era.

The 2001 sequel, “Rush Hour 2,” opened with $67 million domestically—at the time setting a record for a live-action comedy—and ultimately reached $347 million globally.

The third film, released in 2007, earned $258 million internationally despite mixed reviews, illustrating the continued appeal of the Chan-Tucker dynamic.

Separately on Sunday, actor Simu Liu criticized what he described as a “backslide” in Hollywood’s representation of Asian performers.

In a scathing post on Threads, he shared multiple examples of Asian actors struggling to land leading roles.

“Put some Asians in literally anything right now,” he wrote. “The amount of backslide in our representation onscreen is f—ing appalling. Studios think we are risky.”

Liu, known for starring in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” referenced several acclaimed productions led by Asian casts, including “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once.”

He argued that these successful titles contradict industry assumptions that Asian-led films pose financial risks.

“Every single one a financial success. No Asian actor has ever lost a studio even close to 100 million dollars but a white dude will lose 200 million TWICE and roll right into the next tentpole lead,” he said.

“We’re fighting a deeply prejudiced system. And most days it SUCKS.”

Variety reported earlier this month that Liu “has become known for speaking up on social media against right-leaning politics.”

In the same profile, Liu acknowledged that he is not deterred by criticism. “I probably should be more scared of it,” he said. “I just feel like there’s something about the internet that makes people just crazy.”

“There’s something about the publicness of it and where people love being the guy to put someone else down [or] put an entire group of people down. I am so not for that energy.”

Liu has previously spoken out on issues of anti-Asian stereotyping in the entertainment industry.

In 2023, he called out a celebrity look-a-like camera comparison during the NBA’s Celebrity All-Star Game that viewers said played into stereotypes about Asian people.

Posting screenshots on Twitter, he wrote, “I had a great time but this wasn’t cool,” and clarified in later comments that his criticism was aimed at the individual cameraman rather than the NBA.

“No disrespect to my man in the videotron either! He’s gorgeous, we just don’t look alike,” he added.

That same year, he responded to a HuffPost article claiming he received the “bulk of Asian male roles in Hollywood.”

On Facebook, Liu pushed back, writing, “Way to attempt to put us against one another. What ‘bulk’ of roles are you referring to? Are there movies I’m in that I’m not aware of? Do you really think that there is a quota of ‘Asian male roles’ that is a zero sum game?”

He explained that none of his post–“Shang-Chi” projects were originally written for Asian characters, saying, “We’ve been able to reshape stories to get more representation onscreen. Get your facts straight.”

Leave A Reply