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The filmmaker behind the classic 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 adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" 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 developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer 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

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, saying: "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

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 franchise given to different individuals". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. 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."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."