Absolutely Nobody Wants to Make Another ‘Rush Hour’ Movie
It’s been over two decades since Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker first teamed up for Rush Hour, the blockbuster buddy cop movie that worked way better without the involvement of Jay Leno.
But after three hit movies, the Rush Hour series sputtered to a halt. Why? Well, for one thing, Tucker decided to take a break from Hollywood. But now he seems totally up for making another sequel, even telling reporters last year that Rush Hour 4 was “close” to happening.
Chan also seems amenable to the idea of continuing the adventures of Detective Inspector Lee. So what’s the problem? Well, it seems like the project comes with some pretty major baggage: director Brett Ratner.
As most of you are probably aware, in 2017, multiple women accused Ratner of abuses ranging from sexual harassment to rape, all of which he denied. This was in addition to his past indiscretions, which included using homophobic slurs and just generally being a huge piece of Axe Body Spray-scented shit.
In what undoubtedly has come as a huge blow to every discount DVD bin in America, Ratner hasn’t directed a movie since 2014’s Hercules. But the director of the first three Rush Hour entries is allegedly already attached to the potential fourth movie. And according to The Hollywood Reporter, he may be the reason why nobody seems to actually want to make it.
Reportedly, Warner Bros. made the “surprising” decision to allow Rush Hour 4 to be “licensed elsewhere,” but Ratner’s pre-existing involvement in Rush Hour 4 (which the project’s executive producer denies) has been a “nonstarter” for other studios like Paramount and Sony. Plus, there’s always the risk that he’ll randomly cast a fellow member of the toxic filmmakers club in a supporting role.
Now apparently Lionsgate, the studio that gave us John Wick, has been mulling over greenlighting Rush Hour 4 since at least July. Which, if not for Ratner, would no doubt be a no-brainer of a decision. In addition to the fact that the earlier movies grossed more than $500 million domestically, recent revivals of vintage action franchises, such as Top Gun: Maverick, Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F have been largely well-received by the public.
This is pretty wild. Audiences will turn out for Chan and Tucker, not because the guy who made Tower Heist is behind the camera. It’s not as though Ratner – who even before any allegations surfaced, was generally regarded to be the directorial equivalent of a vanilla-flavored shrug emoji – is the only one who can helm a Rush Hour production.
In 2016, there was a whole-ass season of a Rush Hour TV show, developed by Bill Lawrence. And while Ratner still served as an executive producer, he didn’t direct a single episode. The pilot was directed by Jon Turteltaub, who previously made movies like National Treasure and The Meg. Why not just get that guy to make Rush Hour 4?
Then again, they could always hire a director who actually knows how to film martial arts sequences. Just a thought.
You (yes, you) should follow JM on Twitter (if it still exists by the time you’re reading this).
