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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

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 spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along 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, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

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

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was pointless to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, remarking: "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 excited about having the series handed over to other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

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 new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."