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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, 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 New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated 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, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

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

Previous Reservations 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 other people". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, 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 adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by 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 resumed his criticism 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 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 wanted to do a fresh installment."