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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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the initial trilogy of 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 did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was pointless to make the movie without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Previous Reservations and Changing Stance

Zucker had previously objected to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not excited about having the series handed over to different individuals". He continued: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. 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's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

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 trying to copy our style."

Zucker further noted: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."