🔗 Share this article David Zucker Launches Fresh Criticism on New Star-Led Naked Gun Reboot The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's theatrical release. Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of Naked Gun films. "My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it." Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved." The Irreplaceable Star Zucker added that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that." Previous Reservations and Shifting Tone Zucker had previously objected to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to different individuals". He continued: "They have not contacted me 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's not rocket science, but it is challenging." Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically." Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, 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 with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate 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."