🔗 Share this article

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 following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together 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, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood 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."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to different individuals". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. 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 following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

Yet, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, 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 with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."