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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism 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.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone

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". He continued: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Regardless of if 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 string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."