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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated 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 three original Naked Gun films.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. There's thought behind it."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who portrayed the iconic character and passed away in 2010, remarking: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

Zucker had previously objected to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not excited about having the series handed over to different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if 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 series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

Yet, 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: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."