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

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

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 spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his collaborators Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous 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 originated our own style – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall 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 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."

Previous Reservations 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 franchise given to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not 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."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a healthy audience for comedy in cinemas, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

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