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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, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone 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 filmmaker and script collaborator 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 three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

He added: "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

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead 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 make a cameo or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

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 shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "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: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."