Original Naked Gun creator gives brutal verdict on reboot as he criticizes Liam Neeson casting and takes aim at Seth MacFarlane
Speaking exclusively to the Daily Mail, David Zucker – who also directed the original 1980s police comedy – revealed that he did not decline to participate in the reboot, but was excluded from the project altogether after Paramount Pictures rejected his script in favor of working with producer Seth MacFarlane.
'I wrote a whole script for Naked Gun 4 on spec for Paramount,' Zucker told the Daily Mail.
'I understand the studio's thinking to go with Seth MacFarlane. He's a proven commodity and Liam Neeson is a big star, but it's not a fresh idea.'
When it first hit theaters in 1988, The Naked Gun – starring Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban and O.J. Simpson – was a box office success. The spoof-comedy was followed by two sequels in the 1990s.
Zucker, along with his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams (otherwise known as comedy trio ZAZ), was also the creative force behind the 1980 cult classic Airplane!, and he went on to direct films in the Scary Movie franchise.
David Zucker revealed that he did not decline to participate in the reboot, but was excluded from the project altogether after Paramount Pictures rejected his script in favor of working with producer Seth MacFarlane
Liam Neeson, 73, and Pamela Anderson, 58, star in The Naked Gun reboot which is set for release on August 1
In the early stages of the reboot's development, Zucker said he was approached by MacFarlane – best known as the creator of the long-running animated series Family Guy – who praised his work and told Zucker he 'idolized' the original Naked Gun films.
'I had a conversation with Seth and he spent 10 minutes just telling me how he idolized Naked Gun, Airplane, Top Secret,' he said.
'How can you be mad at anybody who tells you how great you are? But it's not enough to be a fan…The guy at my dry cleaners is a big fan, but it doesn't mean he can do Naked Gun.'
The original Naked Gun movie, based on the short-lived ABC series Police Squad!, starred Nielsen as police detective Frank Drebin, as his character directly spoofed the widely popular crime dramas of the era.
Following its release in December 1988, the film raked in $152.4 million on a budget of $12 million.
In 1991, the sequel The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear was released followed by Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult in 1994.
In the reboot released this Friday, Neeson portrays bumbling cop Frank Drebin Jr. – who has followed his father's footsteps into law enforcement – while Anderson stars as femme fatale Beth Davenport.
Former Saturday Night Live writer and The Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer directed the remake, and also served as co-writer alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Mand.
The Naked Gun hit theaters in December 1988. Cast members of the original film included Leslie Nielson (seen), Priscilla Presley, Ricardo Montalban and O.J. Simpson
The original Naked Gun was a box office success and was followed by two sequels in the 1990s
Zucker criticized the 2025 version for sticking to the same old formula, with similar gags as the first instalment.
He highlighted one particular joke in the film, when Anderson's Beth is instructed to 'take a chair' when she arrives in Drebin's office, to which she replies: 'No thank you, I have plenty of chairs at home.'
'We gave up doing those jokes 40 years ago in Police Squad,' Zucker quipped before questioning Neeson's casting.
'OJ… he didn't need to be funny,' he said. 'And even Leslie Nielsen doesn't need to be funny. He just had to be a B movie actor. That's what we did... We didn't pretend to cast Lawrence Olivier or even Al Pacino, but Liam Neeson, for example, he's like Oscar quality. I think he may have won for Schindler's List. So I mean, what's he making fun of?'
Unfortunately, this isn't the first time Zucker has been tossed aside by Paramount Pictures in the early stages of the company developing one of his films for a reboot; he also had no involvement in the 1982 sequel Airplane II, which was written and directed by Ken Finkleman.
The sequel was critically panned and earned only $27.2 million in the United States and Canada, compared to the original's $83 million box office total.
Much like how Zucker never watched Airplane II, he intends to do the same for the Naked Gun reboot.
'I don't plan on seeing it because, why would I?' he said.
Zucker said MacFarlane (pictured) 'thought he knew best'
Zucker criticized the 2025 version for sticking to the same old formula, with similar gags as the first instalment (Neeson pictured in a scene)
He also questioned casting a big name like Neeson for a spoof comedy, asking: 'So I mean, what's he making fun of?' (pictured Neeson and costar Pamela Anderson)
Zucker then recalled his late creative partner Abrahams's response to critics who questioned why he never watched the Airplane sequel. Abrahams died in November last year following a long battle with leukemia.
'People ask Jim, "Why didn't you go to see Airplane II?" And Jim said, "Well, if your daughter became a prostitute, would you go watch her work?" That was his way.'
Of course, that's not to say that he doesn't wish well for MacFarlane, Schaffer, and the creative team behind the new Naked Gun film.
In fact, the reboot has been released to early rave reviews.
The Daily Mail's Brian Viner gave the movie four out of five stars, dubbing it 'hilarious' and praising Neeson as 'perfection.'
'I hope people go to see it, as miffed as I am at the whole thing,' Zucker admitted.
'Seth thought he knew best and it may actually do well, which is crazy in itself.'
These days, Zucker is focused on his own original projects, such as a script for a 'Naked Gun take on the Mission Impossible and Bond film series' called Counter Intelijence, and film noir parody, The Star of Malta.
Pictured, from top to bottom: Comedy trio David Zucker, Jim Abrahams and Jerry Zucker on set 'Top Secret' in 1984. Abrahams died in November 2024 following a long battle with leukemia
Neeson and Anderson, pictured on July 22 at the UK premiere of The Naked Gun, have also garnered attention with their rumored off-screen romance
Zucker is also launching a spoof comedy course on August 4, called MasterCrash: A Crash Course in Spoof Comedy, which will break down the 15 essential rules he uses to write, direct, and edit effective comedy.
MasterCrash is a nine-hour course delivered through 18 separate videos, giving students hands-on opportunities to learn ZAZ's method of spoof writing, collaborate with other students, learn from surprise guest lecturers, and work closely with Zucker himself.
'As f***ing old as I am, I have the fresh ideas, not these young guys,' he said.
'I want to do something new.'
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