'Rush Hour 4' producer hints to Octavia Spencer joining cast

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After the disappointing performance of the Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker 2007 action sequel Rush Hour 3 at the box office, not many anticipated a fourth addition to the series.  But five years later that the film’s producer, Arthur Sarkissian, has revealed he is working on Rush Hour 4 and mentioned the possibility of Oscar winner Octavia Spencer joining the cast.

Octavia Spencer, who won best supporting actress for her role in the 2011 film The Help, may not be the first actress that comes to mind when thinking about another installment in the Rush Hour franchise.  However, in an interview with Crave Online, Sarkissian announced he is “working on Rush Hour 4 right now with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.”  He added that in order to freshen up the plot, “maybe Chris is married, maybe Jackie is married to Octavia Spencer, I don’t know.”

Aside from an upcoming film set to premier late this year (Silver Linings Playbook), Chris Tucker hasn’t worked on a film outside of the Rush Hour series since 1998.  In contrast, fellow co-star Jackie Chan has worked on several recent movies, including The Karate Kid (2010) with Jaden Smith.  Chan recently announced, earlier this year, that he is retiring from action movies, but would make an exception for a possible Rush Hour 4.

Although most assumed the Rush Hour films had ended with its third part, if the fourth film includes big names like Octavia Spencer, can the series be revived?

Follow Carrie Healey on Twitter @CarrieHeals.