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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, after briefly appearing to soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval 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 parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his collaborators 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 developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. 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

The director further stated that it was pointless 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 he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

The filmmaker had earlier expressed opposition to plans to go ahead with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not enthusiastic regarding having the series handed over to other people". He continued: "I have not been approached to make a cameo or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to succeed with it, this style of parody, I mean it's not rocket science, but it is challenging."

Nonetheless, after a series of favorable critiques and strong box office returns following its launch in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I'm excited about it because it just shows that there's a healthy audience for comedy in movie theatres, and spoof in particular."

Return to Criticism Over Budget Concerns

However, Zucker returned to the attack in the new interview, 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 sole motivation why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."