Actor Chris Tucker never imagined he’d wake up in 2025 watching his fans debate Donald Trump’s secret motive behind pushing “Rush Hour 4,” but social media is filled with surprises.
Just as fans started daydreaming about Tucker and Chan teaming up again to fight international crime, that nostalgia was abruptly derailed when the president, who once made a cameo in “Home Alone 2,” inserted himself into the film’s revival — dragging Tucker into a conversation he never asked to be part of.
According to Semafor, Trump has been privately urging billionaire Larry Ellison to bring “Rush Hour 4” back to life, using their long-standing relationship after Ellison’s recent purchase of Paramount.
Ellison’s influence inside Hollywood has expanded as Paramount restructures under his son David’s leadership, creating an opening Donald Trump reportedly saw as a chance to push for the kind of films he wants back in theaters.
Semafor reports it was told by a source familiar with the conversations that Trump made it clear he wanted to see the “Rush Hour” franchise revived and urged Ellison to move it higher on the priority list, while Paramount reviews legacy titles, potential mergers, and its future slate.
VIDEO: Donald Trump in “Home Alone 2” pic.twitter.com/9yHhihVAGe
— PRIME TV (@Prime___TV) September 24, 2025
Instagram users are also not quite sold on Trump’s sudden interest in “Rush Hour 4” or his alleged participation in the film, with some claiming the movie will tank before it even hits movie theatres.
“Keep old diaper boy away from that franchise he is a con artist,” said one social media user.
A second person bluntly stated, “Who asked for this?”
One person summed up the unease with a blunt jab: “White man watching a Black and an Asian person do a job — sounds right up Trump’s alley.”
“The audacity,” said another.
Longtime fans of the film have voiced concern that Trump’s involvement could push the franchise deeper into the racial humor that defined the original films. But others were even more irritated by the idea of Tucker engaging with Trump at all, especially after years of ignoring fans begging for his return as Smokey in Ice Cube’s “Friday” franchise.
“Chris Tucker wanna keep doing Rush Hours, but be ignoring Ice Cube,” one person wrote on X, while another added, “If Chris Tucker do it. Ice Cube gotta fight him.”
If chris tucker do it. Ice cube gotta fight him https://t.co/NFvgHTHP1D
— Matt .. whodatnation (@FAITH_IS_SIGHT_) November 25, 2025
“When you think about it, Rush Hour and Friday had fun Black and Asian representation during an era where we had just had bad relations between the two groups. Shout out to Ice Cube, Jacky Chan, and Chris Tucker.”
Last year, Tucker addressed his renewed interest in the 1990s cult classic. He has made clear that any return would require the right story and the right intent.
Ice Cube once claimed that Tucker turned down $12 million because the role no longer aligned with his values, emphasizing that Tucker has always prioritized purpose over profit.
Now, with “Rush Hour 4” finally gaining traction and “Friday” still floating as a long-shot possibility, both projects have been pulled into a political conversation Tucker never asked for. If “RH4” moves forward because of back-channel pressure, fans will show up simply because they’ve waited decades.
And if, by some unlikely twist, “Friday” also budges — especially given Trump’s past proximity to the N.W.A. founder — it won’t be because anyone suddenly sees him as a cultural savior. It’ll be because audiences are starving to see Smokey on screen again, and the industry knows it.
As the conversation continued, fans revisited reports that Tucker once assured fans on numerous occasions in 2018 and recently in 2024 that both men were ready to return for “Rush Hour 4” once the studio logistics aligned.
According to Slash Films, in May 2025, Chan urged studios to move faster due to the physical demands of the franchise.
Chris Tucker says anything is possible while revealing if he’s open to reprising his role as Smokey for a final Friday movie.
( @V103Atlanta) pic.twitter.com/zZA3zDE0qc
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) March 14, 2024
The two had an unexpected onstage reunion during TIFF’s In Conversation With… Jackie Chan event, when Tucker surprised Chan in the audience. Chan immediately pulled Tucker to the front of the stage, shouted his name to the crowd, and the pair took their seats together.
Reflecting on their “Rush Hour” years from 1998 to 2007, Tucker joked that he once worried Chan didn’t speak English.
“He didn’t say nothing the whole time and we was meeting about the movie ‘Rush Hour’ and the director was there. And the whole meeting Jackie didn’t say nothing. He was just shaking his head,” Tucker recalled on stage.
Another factor behind the renewed momentum is Brett Ratner’s quiet return to influential circles. After directing Melania Trump’s documentary for Amazon, Ratner resurfaced around industry decision-makers, making his link to the original “Rush Hour” trilogy newly relevant. His proximity to the first family has also complicated the legacy of the misconduct allegations that once led Warner Bros. to cut ties with him.
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