David Zucker Renews Attack on New Star-Led Naked Gun Reboot

The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer 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, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of 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 looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

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

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected 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 other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

Yet, 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 with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."