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The filmmaker behind the classic of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere 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 producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin 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 Changing Stance

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 series handed over 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 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 after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

Yet, 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."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."