Original Naked Gun Director Renews Attack on Liam Neeson-Led Naked Gun Revival

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to different individuals". He continued: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."