Since taking office, Donald Trump has made shaping Hollywood in his image a priority. As David Ellison, son of major donor Larry Ellison, oversees Paramount and rises as a frontrunner to take over Warner Bros., the US president appears well-positioned to see his wishlist fulfilled.
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.
Trump has expressed a particular fondness for Bloodsport dating back to the mid-1990s, describing it as “an incredible, fantastic movie” in a 1997 profile with The New Yorker.
As for Rush Hour, Trump has a personal connection to the franchise, whose first three installments were directed by Brett Ratner before the disgraced filmmaker was accused of sexual misconduct by six women during the #MeToo movement. Ratner, who has been pitching a revival for years now, is currently directing a documentary on First Lady Melania Trump.
Additionally, 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.” Chan himself expressed cautious optimism after Trump’s 2016 election, saying 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.”
