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The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated 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 collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous 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 originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood 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."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone

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: "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 kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money 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 sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."