Since taking office, Donald Trump has made shaping Hollywood in his image a priority. With one of his biggest financial backers, Paramount owner Larry Ellison, poised to take control of Warner Bros., the US president is well-positioned to make his wishlist a reality.
According to a new report in Semafor, this includes reviving two major action movie franchises: 1988’s Bloodsport, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme, and the Rush Hour series, led by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. However, this could represent a potential conflict in rights. While Warner Bros. owns Rush Hour through New Line Cinema, A24 was reported to be in negotiations for Bloodsport remake rights earlier this year.
Trump has a personal connection to the Rush Hour franchise, which was directed by Brett Ratner before the disgraced filmmaker was accused of sexual misconduct by six women during the #MeToo movement. A fourth film has since languished in development hell, but that could all change with Trump’s involvement.
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In addition to Ratner helming a documentary on First Lady Melania Trump, Rush Hour producer Arthur Sarkissian’s company made The Man You Don’t Know, a 2024 film that promised to give a “balanced, deeper portrayal of Trump.”
Meanwhile, Chan said in 2016, following Trump’s election, that he should be given “a chance to try to change America and change the world… He’s a businessman… I think he knows how to handle these types of things.” Tucker was less enthusiastic about Trump’s presidency in 2018, telling Piers Morgan, “I want him to be successful, I want him to do the right thing.”
Shortly after being inaugurated for his second term, Trump appointed Jon Voight, Mel Gibson, and Sylvester Stallone as “Special Ambassadors” to Hollywood, which he described as a “great but very troubled place.” Since then, he has reshaped the Kennedy Center, firing dozens of board members and appointing himself as chair while emphasizing “non-woke” programming.”