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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 adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. 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 pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

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 series handed over to different individuals". Adding: "They have not contacted me 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 is challenging."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "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

However, 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 seems to be the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."