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The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot 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

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized 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, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

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

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. 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 excited about having the series handed over to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

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 new Naked Gun, 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 feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."