Original The Naked Gun director criticizes the 2025 reboot, says the film was ‘trying to copy our style’

A still from The Naked Gun | Image via Paramount Pictures
A still from The Naked Gun | Image via Paramount Pictures

The Naked Gun is a film that falls within the action comedy and parody genres. Directed by Akiva Schaffer, it was a sequel to 1994's Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult and a reboot of the franchise. The film premiered at New York's SVA Theater and was released theatrically by Paramount Pictures on August 1, 2025.

However, David Zucker, who had helmed the first two films in the franchise, has shared his disappointment with this entry. He said,

"[They were] trying to copy our style.”

Let's examine his complete comment on the film to gain more details.


Original The Naked Gun director unhappy with the reboot

In an interview with Woman's World, David Zucker spoke about his disappointment with the recently released The Naked Gun. He had helmed the first two films in the franchise.

“My brother, Jerry, and our partner, Jim Abrahams, started doing spoof comedies 50 years ago, and we originated our own style — and we did that so well that it looks easy, evidently. People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new ‘Naked Gun.’ He totally missed it.”

Seth MacFarlane was one of the film's producers. Zucker also pointed out the project's big production budget. He said that the makers were trying to copy his style of comedy.

“You shouldn’t spend too much money on comedies, and one of our rules is about technical pizzazz. Big budgets and comedy are opposites, and in the new ‘Naked Gun,’ you could see that they spent a lot of money on scenes full of technical pizzazz while trying to copy our style.”

Zucker, who has also directed Airplane!, said that the recent installment of The Naked Gun was made only for money.

The film is written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Akiva Schaffer, while MacFarlane and Erica Huggins are the producers. Its cast members include,

  • Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr.
  • Pamela Anderson as Beth Davenport
  • Busta Rhymes as a bank robber
  • Liza Koshy as Detective Barnes
  • Cody Rhodes as a bartender
  • Paul Walter Hauser as Capt. Ed Hocken Jr.
  • Danny Huston as Richard Cane
  • CCH Pounder as Chief Davis
  • Kevin Durand as Sig Gustafson
  • Eddie Yu as Detective Park
  • Moses Jones as "Not Nordberg Jr."

Made on a budget of $42 million, the film ultimately grossed over $100 million at the box office.


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Edited by Yesha Srivastava