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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, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, 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 parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, made famous in Airplane! and the three original Naked Gun films.

"Jerry, my sibling, and Jim Abrahams, our associate, began creating spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style – and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "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."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was pointless to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and passed away 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."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

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 different individuals". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it's not easy."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance after its release in August, Zucker adopted a more agreeable stance, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, questioning the financial investment. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

Zucker further noted: "Financial motives drive everyone currently, and that seems to be the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."