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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 cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. 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."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected 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 different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

However, 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 shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, questioning the financial investment. "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 trying to copy our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."