‘Rush Hour 4’ Shocker: Paramount in Talks to Distribute Brett Ratner Comeback Vehicle

In a move sure to send shockwaves thought Hollywood, Paramount is closing in on a deal to distribute Rush Hour 4, which would mark the big studio return of disgraced director Brett Ratner.

If a deal makes, Paramount would be distributing the sequel and would receive a distribution fee. It would not be financing the movie.

The potential film, which would bring back now-aging stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, would be Ratner’s first narrative feature since being accused of sexual misconduct in 2017.

After a career as a successful music video and commercial director, Ratner’s big break came with the first Rush Hour film in 1998. He directed the next two movies, with a collective franchise gross of more than $500 million at the domestic box office alone. 

He was banished from Hollywood in 2017, when six women accused Ratner of sexual misconduct as part of a Los Angeles Times report. The story included allegations of forced oral sex by actress Natasha Henstridge, while Olivia Munn claimed that the director masturbated in front of her after she was tasked with delivering food to his trailer on set when she was an aspiring actress. (Ratner has denied wrongdoing.)

Ratner has remained a point of controversy for years, with no studio willing to hire him for any project or tackle a Rush Hour 4. Still, he and his partners have continued to shop the project to studios and streamers, including Sony and Lionsgate, as well as Paramount under its previous administration. (Last year, multiple sources told The Hollywood Reporter that Warner Bros., the longtime distributor of the Rush Hour films that were homegrown by Warners’ New Line Cinema division, allowed Rush Hour 4 to be licensed elsewhere years prior.)

Ratner got a foothold back in Hollywood earlier this year, when it was announced that Ratner would direct a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump that was acquired for releases by Amazon. The doc from Ratner — his first film since he was accused of sexual misconduct and harassment — has been produced with Trump’s participation. The film will later be accompanied by a three-part docuseries.

Trump may have held the keys to Ratner’s Rush Hour reversal of fortune. The move reporteldy comes after a push from President Donald Trump, who has strong ties to Larry Ellison and son David Ellison, the latter who runs Skydance, Paramount’s new owner. Semafor Media reported Sunday that Trump personally pressed Paramount to revive Rush Hour (as well as Jean-Claude Van Damme actioner Bloodsport) as the Ellisons eye an acquisition of Warner Bros.

Puck was first to break the news of the impending Rush Hour 4 deal.