The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.
In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized 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 did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. 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."
The director further stated that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character 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."
Zucker had previously objected to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."
Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."
Yet, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style."
Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they decided to produce a fresh installment."
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