President Donald Trump is reportedly behind the revival of the “Rush Hour” movies.
In what looks like an effort to shape pop culture, Trump personally pressed Larry Ellison, the largest shareholder of Paramount, to revive “Rush Hour,” the 1990s and 2000s buddy-cop comedy starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, according to Semafor. Ellison is also a friend of Trump.
On Tuesday, Deadline reported that Paramount is going ahead with the revival and will release the next “Rush Hour” sequel, which will be directed by Brett Ratner and distributed on behalf of Warner Bros.
According to Deadline, Chan and Tucker will be back for the fourth installment of the movie series. Neither Paramount nor the White House immediately responded to a request for comment.
Ellison has been a large donor to Republican politicians since at least 2012. The Washington Post reported that Ellison was part of a conference call shortly after the 2020 election to discuss strategies for overturning the results when President Joe Biden won.
As for Ratner, he recently directed a documentary about first lady Melania Trump, which is set to be released in theaters in January. In 2017, Ratner was accused of rape, sexual assault and harassment by multiple women, including actor Olivia Munn. Warner Bros. has since cut ties with Ratner.
Ellison, who was once a staunch Democrat, has become more conservative over the years. The New York Times reported that while Ellison hasn’t made any public donations to Trump’s campaign, he has sat in on transition meetings.
In August, Paramount merged with Skydance after receiving approval from the Federal Communications Commission. David Ellison, Larry Ellison’s son, is now CEO of Paramount.
There have been reports Trump had his hands in the merger. In order to gain FCC approval, the media company offered to settle the lawsuit that Trump filed against CBS’s “60 Minutes,” and to cancel “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
CBS, which is owned by Paramount, has denied both claims.
Trump, once a fixture of the entertainment business himself, has always been vocal about his interest in pop culture and Hollywood. After Bad Bunny, who has been critical of Trump, was announced the be the Super Bowl’s halftime performer in 2026, Trump called the choice “absolutely ridiculous.” Trump also has plans to host a UFC fight at the White House next year to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday.