Rush Hour 4: Why is social media buzzing with Rush Hour 4 and Donald Trump chatter? Here's our take as Paramount makes an entry

A flurry of late-November news has attributed a potential revival of Rush Hour 4 connecting to backstage discussions at Paramount, and, oddly enough, to direct encouragement from former President Donald J. Trump. Such a bizarre combination has made the story an amalgam of Hollywood gossips, political chatter and meme-friendly drama on the internet.

The situation is currently a business one, with studios in talks to shift deals, producers circling, and the future of the franchise being debated, and the situation is also an unexplained political crossover, with outlets reporting that Trump himself advocated Rush Hour 4 to occur. Such a mix is what has made the topic viral so fast: the nostalgia of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are popular among people, and anything relating to Trump immediately makes people talk about it.

The specifics are yet to be determined on various reports, although the net impact is obvious, a fun, mainstream action franchise all of a sudden is ensnared in the political buzzes, the exact sort of trouble that the internet feeds on.

Rush Hour 4 talks

Hollywood thrives on deals, transfers of ownership and franchises that can earn money. When the ownership of a studio is in transition, such as is currently the case with Paramount, each of the major IPs instantly enter the discussion. That is the reason why the buzz of Rush Hour 4 was so huge on the Internet.

Since the future of the studio is being rearranged, it means that decisions that were stagnant can be made. Real discussions are underway regarding who might be handling the distribution of Rush Hour 4, and whether it will be adopted formally by a studio, which created the need to put the rumor in major headlines rather than fan gossip.

The other amplification is the influence of influential personalities associated with the controlling side of Paramount, who have a say on what is fast-tracked. Their backing makes a long-slumbering sequel concept feel suddenly pressing once more.

Why Donald Trump’s name changed the conversation

A famous person or politician pushing a studio is not a new phenomenon, but when Donald Trump is involved, the response is significantly larger. It has been reported that Trump pressured individuals at Paramount to proceed with Rush Hour 4, leveraging his media ties. That made a simple update on the progress of the movie development a political issue.

Suddenly, the question that people on-line were asking was what his interest actually is, does it only reflect an act of nostalgia, an effort to persuade the kind of movies studios produce, or a favor to a person he knows?

It is important since Brett Ratner, the director of the first Rush Hour, has been mentioned in certain reports, and any comeback by him is controversial due to his previous #MeToo claims. The implication of Trump being involved does not simply increase attention but alters the entire discourse, leading to the question of power, taste, and who is allowed to come back to Hollywood.

The social media reaction

When two high profile cases Rush Hour 4 and Donald Trump intersected in the social media, the response was highly predictable. Franchise enthusiasts were spreading nostalgia, old clips of both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, and positive messages of reuniting the two. Simultaneously, there were concerns by critics regarding the misconduct charges against Brett Ratner in the past, and questions were raised on whether to proceed with the project at all.

Then there was the political dimension. The fact that Trump is reportedly pushing up the schedules for Rush Hour 4 was perceived by many users as an indication of the ways in which politics can impact entertainment, and it has sparked discussions, hot takes, and numerous arguments.

And, the internet, did what it does best, of course memes. It was a joke that even a simple buddy-cop sequel had evolved into a political drama overnight and each detail was either comical or exaggerated.