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The original director of The Naked Gun, David Zucker, has renewed his verbal assault concerning the recent reboot featuring Liam Neeson, following a short period where he seemed to adopt a more conciliatory tone in the aftermath of the film's theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

During a fresh discussion, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "completely failed to grasp" the parody genre approach that Zucker, together with his collaborators 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 originated our own style – and we did that so well that it appears simple, evidently. People started copying it, like the new film's producer for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

Zucker continued: "It might appear that 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 portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and he cannot be replaced. Nobody else is capable of that."

Previous Reservations 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". He continued: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Regardless of if 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 strong box office returns after its release 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

Yet, Zucker resumed his criticism in the new interview, criticising the amount of money involved. "Large financial outlays and humor are incompatible, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

He added: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that seems to be the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."