‘Personally pressed’: Donald Trump uses connection with billionaire owner to push for surprising Hollywood sequel

President Donald Trump is apparently a huge fan of the Rush Hour movies, and he’s personally asking the owner of Paramount to make a fourth film. You wouldn’t really think the president would sit back and watch a buddy-cop comedy, but reports say he really got into the series. Now he’s using his powerful connections to try and make this sequel happen.

According to Bro Bible, President Trump has used his direct connection with Paramount owner Larry Ellison to push hard for the sequel. Ellison is the world’s third-richest man, so he definitely has the power to make things happen if he wants to. The president has reportedly “personally pressed” Ellison about bringing back the franchise.

A person who knows about the conversations claims that “the president of the United States 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.” It’s pretty interesting to think about the president spending time trying to bring back a movie series.

This comeback faces some really tough obstacles

It’s a surprising request since the last film, Rush Hour 3, came out way back in 2007. That movie made over $258 million worldwide, which is a pretty good box office number. However, since then, the stars have mostly stayed away from the Hollywood spotlight, which is one big problem for a sequel.

Jackie Chan is an absolute legend, and he’s still making movies, but he’s mostly focused on making Chinese films over the last twenty years. Chris Tucker has been even quieter. Since 2007, Tucker has only appeared in three films: Silver Linings Playbook in 2012, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk in 2016, and Air in 2023.

If Paramount wants this movie to work, they’re going to need both of those guys back, and they haven’t exactly been killing it at the box office lately. Hollywood has always had issues with making older stars disappear from screens, which doesn’t help their comeback chances.

There’s another huge problem standing in the way of a Rush Hour comeback, and honestly, it’s a big one that Hollywood can’t ignore. All three original films were directed by Brett Ratner. Ratner hasn’t directed a major Hollywood movie since 2014’s Hercules because he was caught up in the 2017 Me Too movement. This came after numerous claims of sexual assault and harassment against him.

This is where the political pressure meets the tough reality of studio filmmaking. You just can’t greenlight a major franchise film that’s tied directly to someone who faced such serious claims. Ratner actually moved to Israel in 2023, which is where he currently lives, putting even more distance between him and the typical Hollywood production process.

Trying to bring back a franchise without its original director is hard enough, but trying to do it while dealing with this kind of reputation damage is a whole different level of difficulty. The entertainment industry has been dealing with shocking Hollywood news lately, making studios even more cautious about controversial figures.