Actors Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan get to the premiere of "Rush Hour 3" astatine Mann's Chinese Theater connected July 30, 2007 successful Hollywood, California.
Jeff Vespa | WireImage | Getty Images
Paramount is reviving "Rush Hour 4" astir 2 decades aft the past installment — a comeback pushed guardant aft President Donald Trump urged Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison to rescue the long-stalled buddy bull movie series, according to aggregate reports.
Paramount has secured backing for the movie and struck a organisation statement with Warner Bros. Discovery, which antecedently owned the franchise nether its New Line banner, Puck's Matthew Belloni archetypal reported.
The task had been successful limbo for years. Studios were repeatedly approached astir a caller installment but balked astatine moving with manager Brett Ratner, whose career collapsed successful 2017 aft respective actors accused him of sexual misconduct. Ratner has denied the allegations and has ne'er been charged.
Under the deal, Paramount volition cod a level organisation interest to merchandise the movie successful theaters, Variety archetypal reported, portion Warner Bros. volition instrumentality an undisclosed stock of box-office receipts earlier financiers recoup costs.
Paramount Skydance nor Warner Bros. Discovery has responded to a petition for comment.
The archetypal 3 "Rush Hour" films were global hits, peculiarly successful China, earning much than $850 cardinal worldwide, according to container bureau estimates, and turning Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker into stars. But the caller sequel faces a changed theatrical scenery wherever comedies person struggled astatine the box office. At 71, Chan has scaled backmost U.S. workplace work, portion Tucker hasn't headlined a large movie since 2007.
Trump's involution successful Hollywood has drawn criticism. He has informally tapped allies including Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight and Mel Gibson arsenic taste emissaries, and has repeatedly said helium wants to reconstruct what helium calls "classical masculinity" to workplace filmmaking.
The White House did not respond to a petition for comment.
For Paramount, the "Rush Hour" revival comes arsenic the recently combined workplace aims to astir treble its output, targeting 15 films successful 2026 and up to 18 by 2028.
The timing besides overlaps with a large manufacture shake-up: Paramount Skydance, Comcast and Netflix person each submitted first-round bids to acquire Warner Bros. The portfolio includes immoderate of entertainment's astir invaluable franchises, from DC to Harry Potter.
Paramount is bidding for each of Warner Bros. Its proposal, antecedently valued astatine astir $23.50 per share, would bring the entire company — the studio, HBO Max and the cablegram networks — nether 1 owner.
Comcast wants is reported funny successful the workplace and streaming assets, including Warner Bros. and HBO Max. The woody would fold those pieces into NBCUniversal and fto Warner Bros. Discovery rotation disconnected CNN and TNT Sports earlier the woody closes. Netflix is besides funny successful the movie and streaming assets, radical acquainted with the substance antecedently told CNBC.
Warner Bros. Discovery is aiming to person its merchantability process wrapped up by mid- to late-December, CNBC antecedently reported.
Disclosure: Comcast is the genitor institution of NBCUniversal, which owns CNBC. Versant would go the caller genitor institution of CNBC upon Comcast's planned spinoff of Versant.
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