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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

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 attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the only reason why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."