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

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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.

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 previously 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 three original 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 did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

He added: "It might appear that 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 portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

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 series handed over to other people". He continued: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I am pleased by 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

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, 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: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."