'Rush Hour 4' In The Works With Chris Tucker & Jackie Chan, Will Be "Gritty"

You might think that with "Rush Hour 3" making less domestically than the first "Rush Hour" film, and barely passing it worldwide, that any chance at a "Rush Hour 4" would be off the table. But while Chris Tucker once commanded a huge salary -- taking $20 million for "Rush Hour 2" and $25 million for "Rush Hour 3" -- tax woes might be making his asking price come way down. And thus, the possibility of "Rush Hour 4" becomes frightening real.

The chatty producer Arthur Sarkissian (who also revealed that the forever brewing "Le Cercle Rouge" has a new director), spoke with CraveOnline and said that another entry in the "Rush Hour" franchise was in development. “I am working on 'Rush Hour 4' right now with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan,” Sarkissian said. “I’m trying to do it closer to how I did 'Rush Hour' 1, more down to earth, more gritty, introduce two new characters and make it real the way the first one was. I personally was not happy with the third one. I thought 1 and 2 were very good. I think 3 got out of hand a little bit. It’s not a matter of just bringing them back to do another segment of that or a sequel to it by putting them in another city and having them bicker. I don’t want that. I want something new.”

You hear that Brett Ratner? Sarkissian didn't like that third movie, bro -- but he'd still be up for you to return...maybe: “If he wants to do it he’s more than welcome to do it but he’s got to do it in the right way,” Sarkissian said. We don't remember the first film being "gritty" or "down to earth" and while it has been a long, long time since we've seen it, we don't think anyone would use those words to describe. Perhaps it's all relative to the sequels.

Anyway, pressed about whether or not those "two new characters" would mean the series being carried on by new names, Sarkissian was both cautious and kind of optimistic. “Maybe [the new characters are] younger, maybe Chris is now married, maybe Jackie is married to Octavia Spencer, I don’t know. Married to Chris’s cousin, they live in Shanghai, Chris goes out to visit them. I don’t know, I want something energetic," he explained. Wait, what? Octavia Spencer? Yep, dude just name dropped the Oscar winner. "Why not? If it’s good, script is good you’ll get anybody.” Okay, then.

This is all very early stages, with a screenwriter still needing to be found, though Sarkissian insists Tucker and Chan are both interested in reprising their roles. So, we'll see how this develops but you can believe the words that are coming out of Arthur Sarkissian's mouth.