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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Zucker's Critique of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized 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 originated our own style – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

He added: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was futile to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, saying in 2024 that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."

However, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism 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 with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the only reason why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."