We’ve confirmed with sources that Paramount is releasing the next Rush Hour sequel from Brett Ratner. The studio is distributing on behalf of Warner Bros for a double-digit-percent distribution fee.
Intriguing deal at an intriguing time: The David Ellison-owned Paramount is one of the bidders for Warner Bros Discovery. This is arguably the studios’ first team-up since Ellison took control of the Melrose Avenue lot and follows a moment when all WBD bids were due last week (Netflix and Comcast are the other suitors).
Apparently, a number of studios passed on releasing the new Rush Hour including Warner Bros’ own New Line, the architect behind the Jackie Chan-Chris Tucker franchise that blasted Ratner’s directing career out of a cannon, spawning a trilogy that has grossed $850 million at the global box office.
The first Rush Hour movie was in 1998, the second in 2001 and the third in 2007. Tucker and Chan reportedly are back for Part 4.
Ratner was accused of sexual assault in 2017 by Melanie Kohler. He sued for defamation, and both sides settled in the fall of 2018, agreeing to move on. Ratner, a linchpin of the Warner Bros financing entity RatPac, which funded a portion of several slate titles, recently directed a documentary about First Lady Melania Trump for Amazon MGM Studios that will hit theaters January 30.
On Sunday, Semafor, citing a person familiar with the conversations, reported that Donald Trump pressed the Ellisons to revive the Rush Hour franchise.
How did this all come to be? It was reported in August 2024 that Rush Hour 4 with Ratner attached as director and producer was being shopped around. New Line allowed it to be licensed elsewhere, with Tarak Ben Ammar retaining rights to make the fourthquel under his Eagle Pictures label, one of Italy’s biggest production and distribution companies. Ammar connected with Arthur Sarkissian, the original producer of the Rush Hour movies.
It’s a big deal to bring this series back to theaters when many yearn to see the return of comedies. Sony has been successful with the last two Bad Boy movies — 2020’s Bad Boys for Life ($426.5 million in worldwide box office) and 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die ($404.5M worldwide), proving audiences weren’t hesitant to watch Will Smith after his Oscar slap of Chris Rock.
Paramount didn’t return request for comment.
Ted Johnson contributed to this report.