The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.
In a recent interview, Zucker expressed 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 spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners 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 five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, 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."
Zucker added that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."
The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo 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."
However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."
However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."
He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the only reason why they decided to produce a fresh installment."
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