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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 soften his stance in the aftermath of the film's cinema debut.

Director's Disapproval of the Reboot's Comedy Approach

During a fresh discussion, Zucker expressed that Seth MacFarlane, the producer behind the new Naked Gun and previously the director and co-writer of the Ted movies, "totally missed" the spoof-comedy style that Zucker, along with his partners 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 developed a unique approach – and we executed it so effectively that it looks easy, clearly. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the recent reboot. He completely misunderstood it."

He added: "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 portrayed the iconic character and who died in 2010, saying: "They tried to replace Leslie Nielsen in the new Naked Gun, and you can't replace him. No one else can do 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 other people". Adding: "I have not been approached to appear briefly or participate in scripting. Whether or not they're going to do a good job with it, this kind of spoof, I mean it isn't overly complex, but it's not easy."

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

Renewed Disapproval Over Financial Aspects

Yet, Zucker returned to the attack 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: "Everybody's in it for the money now, and that feels like the only reason why they wanted to do a new Naked Gun."