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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, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

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, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying 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 futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, 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 excited about having the franchise given to other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or participate in scripting. 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 is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval 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 spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."