The long-stalled action-comedy sequel, Rush Hour 4, is officially moving forward, reportedly due to a surprising and direct intervention from U.S. President Donald Trump. Paramount Pictures has greenlit the project. It was confirmed by the Puck News founding partner, Matthew Beloni, on a post he made on his X (formerly Twitter) account on November 25, 2025:Trump's personal support for the film, stemming from a push on behalf of director Brett Ratner, is credited with accelerating the deal at Paramount, marking a significant and politically charged moment for the highly anticipated fourth installment, which has been in development limbo for years.The original buddy-cop film featuring Jackie and Chris Tucker, which launched the global phenomenon, hit theaters on September 18, 1998.President Donald Trump's intervention revives the iconic buddy-cop action comedy franchise with Rush Hour 4Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan in Rush Hour (Image via Netflix)Reports suggest that President Donald Trump personally intervened to push for the production of Rush Hour 4 by leveraging his relationship with Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder in the newly structured Paramount-Skydance entity.Trump reportedly lobbied Ellison directly on behalf of director Brett Ratner, who helmed the first three installments of the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker action-comedy franchise. The move marks a high-profile return to Hollywood feature filmmaking for Ratner, whose career was effectively sidelined after he faced multiple allegations of sexual misconduct in 2017.Notably, Paramount recently went through a major merger, effectively combining with Skydance. On top of that, the studio is now actively trying to buy a huge rival, Warner Bros. Discovery, which actually owns the rights to the first Rush Hour films.This unusual situation suggests that the President's influence isn't just about making a movie, but may be connected to these giant deals and the future shape of the entire studio. While most things are kept under wraps, the studio is investing in and producing Rush Hour 4, which might see the return of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in their iconic roles.The franchise has been a massive global commercial success, with the original trilogy collectively grossing over $850 million worldwide at the box office. The second film, Rush Hour 2 (2001), was the most financially successful entry, pulling in approximately $347 million globally.The franchise also spawned a short-lived TV series adaptation in 2016. Aired on CBS, the story followed the same plot of a Hong Kong detective (Jon Foo) partnered with a wisecracking LAPD detective (Justin Hires), however it was canceled after just one season.Recently, while promoting Karate Kid: Legends, Jackie Chan shared his opinion on a new Rush Hour movie. Speaking to ScreenRant, the 71-year-old actor stated:“I don’t know. Ask the director, ask the studio, ask the writer. Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and me [will be] 100 years old. We’ll be old men doing Rush Hour.”Chris Tucker also previously offered an optimistic, albeit cryptic, update on the potential sequel finally moving forward. Tucker suggested that if the film did manifest, it would represent a significant creative shift for the franchise. He stated:“You’re going to see a lot of good stuff coming, but it’s going to be on a whole other level. That’s what I like… I’m excited about that. It’s not going to be what you’ve normally seen… Rush Hour 4, that’s something I definitely will probably drop in there because I love working with Jackie, but I’ve got some new stuff that I think you’re really gonna like. I’m excited about it.”Stay tuned for more updates on Rush Hour 4.