‘Rush Hour 4’ Production Gets Started Following the Success of ‘Melania’

“Rush Hour 4” is off to the races…pre-production begins in a few weeks, cementing Brett Ratner‘s return to Hollywood, TMZ has learned.

Understand the words that come out of our mouths… the fourth installment in the popular franchise starring Chris Tukker And Jackie Chan was given the green light last November – shortly afterwards President Trump randomly said he missed old-school buddy cop comedies… and specifically said another “Rush Hour” was needed.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ … ‘RH4’ is definitely happening – and soon – and pre-production will begin in just a few weeks, once spring arrives.

We hear filming will begin this fall, and of course Chris and Jackie are attached to star.

The film is important for a number of reasons. The film mainly marks Brett Ratner’s return to Hollywood after being banned from the film industry in 2017 over #MeToo allegations, which he has vehemently denied. Ratner, who recently helped the record-breaking First Lady documentary ‘Melania’ returns as director and co-producer of ‘RH4.’

Our source tells us … while Brett’s success with ‘Melania’ is great … ‘RH4’ was already accelerated post-Trump expressed his support – which is also a pretty big deal. Paramount is handling the release on behalf of Warner Bros.