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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the newly released revival featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer 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 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that we're just throwing stuff up against the wall to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

Leslie Nielsen's Legacy

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away in 2010, saying: "They attempted to substitute Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of 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 franchise given to other people". He continued: "They have not contacted me to make a cameo or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

Nonetheless, 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 strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, 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 only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."