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The original director 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.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas 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 produce the film 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. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections 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 excited about having the series handed over to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Whether or not 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 string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

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."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they decided to produce a fresh installment."