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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 adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" 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.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that 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 make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. 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 excited about having the franchise given to other people". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism 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 new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a fresh installment."