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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot 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 Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together 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, began creating spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was pointless 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 recent revival, and you can't replace him. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the franchise given to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, 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 struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while attempting to replicate our style."

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