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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 adopt a more conciliatory tone following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.

Zucker's Critique of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the filmmaker and script collaborator of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized 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 appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like we're just randomly trying ideas to see what sticks, but we're not. Consideration is involved."

The Irreplaceable Star

Zucker added that it was futile to produce the film without Leslie Nielsen, who played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and he cannot be replaced. No one else can do that."

Earlier Objections and Shifting Tone

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition 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". He continued: "I have not been approached to make a cameo 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 is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a string of positive reviews and impressive financial performance following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, saying: "I am pleased by it because it just demonstrates there's a strong market for comedy in movie theatres, and parody specifically."

Renewed Disapproval Over Budget Concerns

Yet, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

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