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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 theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated 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, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. 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 pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations 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 franchise given to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the recent discussion, 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 sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."