After more than 10 years of waiting, Chris Tucker confirmed he and Jackie Chan will be backflipping into theaters for Rush Hour 4.
Chan had already said he would return to the franchise last year in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, but Tucker has remained quiet on the future of the series, leading many to wonder if the films would wrap up as a trilogy.
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But speaking this week on ESPN’s podcast The Plug, Tucker assured fans that he and Chan will be practicing their best martial arts skills to turn the action-comedy into a four-time film series.
“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,” he said.
“Good news. Next year, Rush Hour 4, and I hope the script [is] done,” Chan said last year of the film’s potential. “And day after tomorrow we meet the director and Chris Tucker again to make sure we go the right track.”
Chan never mentioned who was directing the film, but he may have been referring to Brett Ratner, who helmed the first three movies.
Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson joked on the DVD commentary of Rush Hour 3 that a fourth movie could come out in 2012, but their hopes were not met with reality. And while Chan alluded to director meetings, Ratner’s recent sexual assault allegations could thwart his return to the franchise for another installment, though he took charge of the original trilogy from its inception.
The original Rush Hour in 1998 became a surprise hit by pairing up Tucker’s Detective James Carter and Chan’s Chief Inspector Lee as a pair of law enforcement personalities who meet from two different sides of the world. Earning an impressive $244.4 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $33 million, it brought the boys back together for two more installments in 2001 and 2007.
While the combination of Chan’s fighting skills and Tucker’s comedic timing made for a hit franchise that found major box office success, the third film didn’t live up to audiences’ — or Chan’s — expectations.
Nothing particularly exciting stood out that made this movie special for me,” he said. “I spent four months making this film and I still don’t fully understand the humor.”
Rush Hour 4 does not yet have an official release date.
