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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 soften his stance following the premiere of the film's theatrical release.

Director's Disapproval of the New Film's Style

In a recent interview, Zucker stated that Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, together with his collaborators 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 50 years ago, and we developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He totally missed it."

He added: "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 played Frank Drebin and who died in 2010, remarking: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the recent revival, and you can't replace him. Nobody else is capable of that."

Earlier Objections and Changing Stance

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 other people". Adding: "They have not contacted me to appear briefly or be involved in the writing. Regardless of if 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 string of positive reviews and strong box office returns after its release in August, Zucker struck a more conciliatory tone, commenting: "I am pleased by it because it just shows that there's a strong market for comedy in cinemas, and parody specifically."

Return to Criticism Over Financial Aspects

However, Zucker resumed his criticism in the recent discussion, criticising the amount of money involved. "Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the recent reboot, you could see that they invested heavily on scenes with impressive technical effects while trying to copy our style."

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