🔗 Share this article

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

Zucker had previously objected to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not excited about having the series handed over to different individuals". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

Yet, 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 full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate 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."