Rush Hour 4 is finally happening, all thanks to Donald Trump. Here are the details

Popular film franchise Rush Hour is getting a fourth instalment, and fans can thank US President Donald Trump for his timely intervention. Paramount has announced Rush Hour 4 after Trump lobbied for the film to his friend and backer Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder of the new Paramount Skydance.

For years, director Brett Ratner has been trying to make the fourth instalment but has had little success. The director had retreated from the film industry after facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment during the #MeToo movement.

Paramount greenlights Rush Hour 4

According to reports, Trump lobbied for the fourth part of the hugely popular franchise, which stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Trump’s friend Larry Ellison is the largest shareholder of the new Paramount Skydance, which, as part of Paramount Global, settled a lawsuit with Trump over a critical CBS News interview with the president.

Paramount has reportedly secured funding for the film and even agreed to a distribution deal with Warner Bros, which had earlier owned the franchise under its New Line banner.

Director Brett Ratner accused of sexual misconduct

In 2017, Brett Ratner was accused of numerous instances of sexual assault, which put an halt to his career. He sued Melanie Kohler, a former employee of the Endeavour Talent Agency, who alleged the director “preyed” on her at a club and raped her at the home of Robert Evans, the famed Hollywood producer, for defamation after she came forward; the two settled in 2018.

In a statement from 2017, Kohler said she hoped Ratner would be held “accountable for the way he’s treated the nobodies of the world or at least the way he treated me”.

Ratner has tried to revive his career since then, and most recently directed a $40m documentary about Melania Trump for Amazon MGM Studios. The film is set to hit theatres on January 30.

About Rush Hour

The buddy-cop franchise has been popular with the audience for years now. The first three Rush Hour films grossed over $850 million worldwide and became hugely popular in China.

A fourth film has been in the works for a long but Ratner has been struggling to find a producer.

Many are looking at the announcement of Rush Hour 4 as a part of Trump’s efforts to reintroduce old-fashioned masculinity into Hollywood culture.