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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, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.

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 director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style 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, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

He added: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was pointless to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations 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 series handed over to different individuals". 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 style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, 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, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack 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 attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a fresh installment."