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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, after briefly appearing to soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator 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 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

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". Adding: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or be involved in the writing. 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 is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch 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 parody specifically."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the recent discussion, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."