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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has reignited his criticism concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, after briefly appearing to soften his stance following the premiere 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 formerly 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.

"My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies five decades in the past, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

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

The Irreplaceable Star

The director further stated that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections 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 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's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques 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 cinemas, and parody specifically."

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 recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

He added: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they decided to produce a new Naked Gun."