Brett Ratner, the filmmaker behind the Rush Hour franchise and a recent Melania Trump documentary, joined President Trump aboard Air Force One for this week's summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, marking an unlikely addition to a delegation heavy with tech titans and Wall Street chiefs.
Trump traveled to China on Thursday and Friday to discuss major economic and geopolitical matters, including Iran and Taiwan. The presidential aircraft carried Apple CEO Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk, BlackRock head Larry Fink, and Ratner, who came along primarily to scout filming locations for Rush Hour 4, according to his spokeswoman Victoria Palmer-Moore.
The plan is to shoot significant portions of the new action-comedy in China itself. Trump, who has publicly stated his admiration for the Rush Hour films, reportedly encouraged the project's revival after mogul Larry Ellison, the driving financial force behind Paramount Skydance, signaled interest in resurrecting the franchise during merger talks with Warner Bros.
The original 1998 Rush Hour, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as mismatched detectives solving crimes across Hong Kong, Paris, and Los Angeles, became a cultural phenomenon. Its 2001 sequel delivered similarly strong box office returns. But the 2007 third installment stumbled critically and commercially, leaving the franchise dormant for nearly two decades despite periodic rumors of a fourth film.
Ratner's involvement comes as his career has quietly revived under Trump's patronage. The director faced severe professional exile following sexual misconduct allegations during the 2017 Me Too movement, which he has denied. His recent return to filmmaking came with a 2026 Amazon-backed documentary about Melania Trump, though the project proved a financial disaster, earning $16.7 million against a $40 million budget.
The proposed Paramount Skydance deal remains unconfirmed, with hundreds of entertainment industry figures calling on regulators to block the acquisition citing concerns over job losses and reduced theatrical releases. Trump's public backing of the merger and his support for the Rush Hour revival have given both projects unexpected momentum in spite of industry resistance.
Chan and Tucker signaled readiness to reprise their roles as recently as 2017 when reports suggested they had agreed on a new script. With Trump's intervention in late 2025 and now an international location scouting mission underway, the long-stalled fourth installment finally appears to be moving forward.
Author James Rodriguez: "Trump using Air Force One as a Hollywood green-light machine while handling major geopolitical negotiations is peak 2026, and Ratner's comeback tour suggests a director can escape career consequences with the right political connections."
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