The iconic director of the original Naked Gun film, David Zucker, has publicly shared his thoughts on the highly anticipated 2025 reboot of the franchise, produced by Seth MacFarlane. In a candid interview with Woman’s World, Zucker stated that the reboot “totally missed the mark,” criticizing the approach taken to bring the classic spoof comedy into the modern era.

David Zucker Reflects on the Legacy of Naked Gun

David Zucker, who co-created and directed the original Naked Gun (1988) starring Leslie Nielsen, reflected on the unique comedic style that he, his brother Jerry Zucker, and their creative partner Jim Abrahams developed over 50 years ago.

“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,” Zucker explained.

Zucker emphasized that their style, often imitated, relies on a precise “method to the madness.” He criticized MacFarlane’s reboot, saying:

“People started copying it, like Seth MacFarlane for the new Naked Gun. He totally missed it.”

Rules of Spoof Comedy: Why Big Budgets Don’t Always Work

Zucker also highlighted that one of the original Naked Gun rules is that comedies don’t benefit from extravagant budgets.

“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,” he told Woman’s World.

This perspective underscores the delicate balance between slapstick humor and cinematic spectacle, a hallmark of Zucker’s filmmaking philosophy.

Turning Down Executive Producer Credit

In a previous interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Zucker revealed that he had been offered an executive producer credit on the 2025 reboot but declined.

“I won’t take credit on anything that I didn’t work on from the beginning,” Zucker said.

Zucker further explained that he has no intention of seeing the new film. He added:

“I don’t see any of the sequels that were of my material done by other people, and that’s fine. He actually invited me to come see an early cut of it, but I told him there’s nothing I could do to help because it really isn’t what I would have done.”

Despite his critique, Zucker expressed respect for MacFarlane’s passion for classic spoof comedies:

“I can’t get mad at anyone who will tell me what a genius I am. That was a good conversation,” Zucker said.

About the 2025 Naked Gun Reboot

The 2025 reboot stars Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Nielsen’s iconic Frank Drebin. In addition, Pamela Anderson makes a notable appearance as the sultry femme fatale Beth. Despite the modern cast and production value, Zucker feels the film diverges from the comedic essence of the original series.

Fans of the franchise continue to debate whether the reboot successfully modernizes the humor or if it strays too far from the original spoof style pioneered by Zucker and his team.