Earning £244m off a $33m budget a sequel was greenlit and appeared in 2001. With a much bugger budget of $90m it went on to earn $347m. Ut would be six years before the third film was made and released in 2007.

The budget had ballooned to $140m but made a disappointing $258m meaning after marketing and other associated costs it made a loss. But a significant part of the third films budget was the $20m each star was paid to reprise their roles. The Rush Hour 4 problem… Twenty years things have changed significantly for each star in terms of box office success and consequently why Rush Hour 4 may not happen relates to their salary as they have only been offered $8m each to make a fourth film.

Which again takes a significant part of the films £120m budget which was hoping to kick off this Summer in China, Africa, and Saudi Arabia, but has now been delayed to September at the very earliest. It;s the films financing that is looking increasingly unstable. In fairness the world of action films has moved on significantly with film like John Wick and The Raid and Extraction raising the bar when Chan, who is mow 71, has established a enviable reputation for doing his own stunts, might have second thoughts about this now.

Tucker’s last hit film was Rush Hour 3 having only made four films since. And as for director Brett Ratner he was involved in a scandal that saw Warner’s sever ties with is production company and his ‘Melania’ documentary has scathing reviews. – read about that here related feature : The most influential action films in each decade related feature : The Raid 2 kitchen fight – Gareth Evans reveals how they did it related feature : Those Melania movie music mistakes….