It's crazy. When I think about Jackie Chan's American output, the Rush Hour films are still arguably the crown jewels in that section of his filmography. Granted, when you've got dreck like The Tuxedo as your competition, that's not exactly a high bar. Nevertheless, nobody can watch Rush Hour 2 and tell me it's not a totally kick ass studio action movie with a great central duo and some solid fights.
Well, apparently Chris Tucker is feeling the itch to get back in the Rush Hour game, as he recently stopped by ESPN's podcast, The Plug, and said that the fourth movie is now on:
“It’s happening. This is gonna be the rush of all rushes. Jackie is ready and we want to do this so that people don’t ever forget it.”
It would make sense that the franchise be brought back to life, seeing how the first three films have grossed nearly a billion dollars worldwide. As Coming Soon points out, Chan has been saying that the wheels have been in motion on Rush Hour 4 for some time. Speaking with Power 106 Los Angeles last year, the Hong Kong legend noted:
"For the last seven years, we’ve been turning down the script, turning down the script. Yesterday, we just agreed… the script, probably end of this month. They’re on the second draft. Next year, probably start. I hope. If Chris Tucker agrees. It’s not about money. It’s about time to make, otherwise… Rush Hour 4, we’re all like old men! Before we get old. I tell Chris Tucker, before we get old, please, do Rush Hour 4!”
Obviously, the elephant in the room here is who helms the movie, as Brett Ratner is out at Warner Bros. - who owns franchise holder New Line Cinema - following a slew of sex pest allegations. So, who the hell would you get to direct Rush Hour 4? If it were up to me, I'd recruit someone from the DTV action market to give them a shot at the big leagues (paging John Hyams), but these two stars are fickle enough that a rookie probably wouldn't cut it. Maybe someone like Martin Campbell instead (who kicked ass on Chan's The Foreigner last year)? What do you guys think?