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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, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

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

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, started doing 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 recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not excited about having the franchise given to other people". He continued: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

Yet, Zucker returned to the attack in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they decided to produce a fresh installment."