Film director Brett Ratner, known for the Rush Hour franchise and a documentary on Melania Trump, is accompanying President Donald Trump on his trip to China for a high-stakes summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The US president is scheduled to hold talks on Thursday and Friday covering pressing economic and geopolitical issues, including Iran and Taiwan.
High-Profile Delegation
Trump was joined on Air Force One by a delegation of CEOs and top executives from major US tech and finance firms, including Apple's Tim Cook, Tesla's Elon Musk, and BlackRock's Larry Fink. Ratner was also among the group. According to reports, the president is a huge fan of the Rush Hour series, which follows detectives James Carter and Yan Naing Lee, played by Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, as they navigate cultural differences and investigate crimes in Hong Kong, Paris, and Los Angeles.
Scouting for Rush Hour 4
Ratner's spokesperson, Victoria Palmer-Moore, confirmed that the director will use the trip to scout filming locations for the latest installment of the Rush Hour franchise. She added that Ratner plans to shoot 'a lot' of Rush Hour 4 in China. Last November, Trump reportedly encouraged billionaire Larry Ellison, the primary financial force behind Paramount Skydance, to bring back the franchise once Paramount's controversial purchase of Warner Bros was completed. However, that deal is yet to be confirmed, as hundreds of Hollywood actors and directors have called for regulators to block the acquisition over fears of job cuts and a drastically scaled-back movie slate.
Comeback After #MeToo Allegations
Trump's support has allowed Ratner to make a comeback in Hollywood after being sidelined following accusations of sexual misconduct during the #MeToo movement in 2017. Ratner denies all allegations. In 2026, Ratner released the Amazon-backed documentary Melania, which followed the first lady during the 20 days before Trump's second inauguration. The documentary was a critical and commercial flop, drawing $16.7 million at the box office against a production budget of $40 million. It was the first movie directed by Ratner in more than a decade.
History of the Rush Hour Franchise
The original Rush Hour was an instant hit in 1998, topping the US box office charts upon its release. Its sequel, Rush Hour 2, was also a huge commercial success in 2001, before Ratner's critically and commercially disappointing Rush Hour 3 was released in 2007. Despite rumours of a fourth film circulating for almost two decades, with Chan suggesting in 2017 that he and Tucker had agreed upon a new script, development had stalled until Trump intervened in late 2025.
