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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer 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 three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane 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."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition 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". He continued: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

However, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

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 recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money 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 decided to produce a new Naked Gun."