US President Donald Trump wants the comeback of one of his favorite Hollywood film franchises. Some might assume it’s Home Alone, given Trump’s cameo in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. However, the franchise in question is none other than Rush Hour.
The Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker starrer action-comedy franchise enjoys a huge global fan base among cinema enthusiasts, one of them being the President himself. Reportedly, Trump might get the work done by Paramount owner Larry Ellison.
Apart from being the third-richest man in the world, Ellison also has a close relationship with Trump. He also made heavy donations to the President’s election campaign.
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According to Semafor, Trump is suggesting a reboot of Rush Hour as one of Paramount’s ambitious new projects, which is currently headlined by Ellison’s son, David. A source close to the development revealed to the publication that the President “personally pressed” Larry to work on the Rush Hour reboot.
Talking about the box office performance of the Rush Hour franchise, the first film was released in 1998 and grossed $245.3 million worldwide. The second film, Rush Hour 2, was released in 2001 and earned $347,325,802 worldwide. The third film was released in the year 2007 and minted $258,097,122 worldwide.
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All three Rush Hour films were directed by filmmaker Brett Ratner. However, Ratner embroiled himself in a major controversy when sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against him in 2017. This led Warner Bros. to disassociate with him.
It could be challenging for major studios to consider a new Rush Hour, especially if Brett Ratner is retained as the director; Paramount might not face much difficulty with it. This is because Ratner is said to have strong MAGA connections.
After rubbishing the allegations against him, Brett made his directorial comeback with a documentary film on Melania Trump. The budget for the same is said to be a whopping $40 million, and it is all set to be released through Amazon in January 2026.
The documentary is based on FLOTUS’ journey over the 20 days leading up to her husband’s 2025 inauguration. The producer of the Rush Hour franchise, Arthur Sarkissian, had also bankrolled the documentary film The Man You Don’t Know about the President, which was released last year.
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It will be interesting to witness whether Trump will be interested in retaining the original cast of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the reboot. Chan had commented on the POTUS back in 2016, saying, “Just give him 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.”
However, according to The Daily Beast, Tucker was seen supporting Kamala Harris in July 2024 while attending her campaign rally in Georgia. He is also said to be close with former US Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
