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The filmmaker behind the classic 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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and formerly the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the parody genre approach that Zucker, along with his partners Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams, popularized 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 developed a unique approach – and we did that so well that it appears simple, clearly. Others began imitating it, like the new film's producer for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it."

Zucker continued: "It can look like 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

The director further stated that it was futile to make the movie 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

Zucker had previously objected to the decision to proceed with a Naked Gun reboot, remarking last year that he was "not excited about having the series handed over to different individuals". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if 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."

However, after a series of favorable critiques and impressive financial performance 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 strong market for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

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 new Naked Gun, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes full of technical pizzazz while attempting to replicate our style."

Zucker further noted: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the sole motivation why they wanted to do a fresh installment."