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The filmmaker behind the classic 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 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, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "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 produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations 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 franchise given to other people". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates 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 new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "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 trying to copy our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the only reason why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."