When days agoLiam Neesontook off his pants and revealed a set of ladies' underwear in the trailer forThe Naked Gun, fans got a glimpse at what could be coming in the remake of the beloved comedy classic. They are excited, but others remain skeptical about bringing back the iconic franchise. Among those, there’sDavid Zucker, the director of the first twoNaked Gunmovies and part of the creative trio of writers behind parody classics likeTop Secret!andAirplane!Zucker haspreviously stated his opinion about the upcoming reboot, but now he’s sharing his scorn for Neeson’s casting and the studio’s decision to not consult any of them for the remake.
In a conversation with Fox News, Zucker opened up about theNaked Gunremake, which is set to premiere in theaters on August 12, 2025.The Naked Gunis based on the 1982 television seriesPolice Squad!starring Leslie Nielsen, and created by Zucker, his brother Jerry and Jim Abrahams. The film’s first trailer debuted a few days ago, finally revealing Neeson’s polarizing comedy role. “You can’t replace Leslie Nielsen. That’s the thing,” said Zucker, admitting that he’s not very happy with what they’re doing to his baby:
“It’s painful, but it’s just not what I would have done. But you know, I don’t want to just bash what they’re doing, but I’d like to. But it’s not what I would have done, it is not our style. It’s strange seeing it.”
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The newNaked Gunmovie stars Neeson along with Kevin Durand, Paul Walter Hauser, Pamela Anderson, Liza Koshy, and Cody Rhodes, among others. The film is directed bySNLveteran Akiva Schaffer and produced byFamily Guycreator Seth Seth MacFarlane. Years ago, Zucker decided to back away from the remake, which ultimately landed in MacFarlane’s hands. At the time, Zucker felt that his comedic style was not going to be taken into consideration for the reboot. Today, he doesn’t seem to have changed his mind:
“Jim Abrahams said when we would do Q and A’s and we’d be asked, ‘Why haven’t you ever seen Airplane II? And Jim said, ‘Well, if your daughter became a prostitute, would you go watch her work?’
“The Naked Gun and Airplane!, these are our babies. And we spent a lot of time conceiving it, doing it. And then it was kind of a surprise to me when I was excluded from the remake.”
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For decades, MacFarlane has proven his comedy chops with shows likeFamily GuyandAmerican Dad!Movies likeTedalso proved that he isn’t exactly trying to please rating boards. If there’s someone who can make aNaked Gunmovie and respect the comedy style of the Leslie Nielsen movies, that’s him.
However, Zucker’s involvement, even as a consultant, was a no-brainer. It would have provided the project with the touch that made Frank Drebin’s adventures a staple of the comedy genre. Originally, the director seemed happy about the way the reboot was panning out. Before things headed south, Zucker said previously:
“I just assumed I would do it. We wrote a script. And then suddenly Seth MacFarlane came in with Liam Neeson, and it was big studio, big agency, big producer. They were very sincere in what they thought they were going to do. They want to do Naked Gun. And these aren’t bad people, they worship, they love Naked Gun, Top Secret!, Airplane!, and Seth MacFarlane has done homages in Family Guy and all this stuff, and it’s very nice.
“He called me, and for 10 minutes, he just told me how much he loved my movies. However, when I first heard that he was going to do it, I kind of applied hat in hand to help or to be involved. And he said, ‘Not until we do the script.’ He didn’t want to meet with me. So that’s his choice. All I can say is, ‘That’s Hollywood.'”
