David Zucker Ends Personal War Against ‘Naked Gun’ Reboot

David Zucker has an axe to grind against “The Naked Gun” reboot. And it’s hard to blame him.

Zucker brought the original “Gun” trilogy to big screens in the late 1980s/early 1990s. The trilogy built on the writer/director’s hilarious “Police Squad!” TV series, which was criminally canceled after just six episodes.

He had a script for a “Naked Gun”-style extension to revive the brand, but he says the Paramount suits wouldn’t greenlight it. They preferred a direct reboot and went to producer Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy”) to do the honors.

Sorry, David, we’ve moved on. Your baby is now our baby.

And, naturally, he didn’t take it well.

Naked Gun creator @TheDavidZucker explains to @RubinReport how the @SethMacFarlane reboot screwed him over pic.twitter.com/7KxO751PKI

— The Rubin Report (@RubinReportShow) July 30, 2025

“I’m not planning on seeing the ‘Naked Gun’ remake either,” Zucker told TMZ. “I regret having seen the trailer for it.”

Paramount offered to give him an executive producer credit on the reboot as a thank you, of sorts. He declined.

“They wanted nothing from me except my name. They assume I’m old and using a walker, and I can’t do it anymore. I guess talent leaves after age 40 in Hollywood.”

That was then.

Now, “The Naked Gun” is earning rave reviews, along with a glowing 91 percent “fresh” rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Zucker may see a silver lining to having his signature series taken from him.

Here’s part of his message to his email subscribers, tied to his upcoming “Master Crash” course, regarding the film and his change of heart.

Today I realized it would great if Naked Gun 4 was a big hit.

…. If Naked Gun 4 actually succeeds (“in the unlikely event of a water landing…”), it would be great for us spoof makers!

This is how Hollywood works: When there’s a hit, everyone scrambles to copy it.

So, big opening for Naked Gun 4 = suddenly, “Spoof is Big Box Office!”

This means that, tomorrow’s release may be a win/win situation.

If it’s a hit, there will be more resources allocated to spoof by studios. If it’s not a hit, the MasterCrash course will help us identify all the mistakes that led to its demise.

… if this movie does well, it’s an indication of how starved audiences are for cinema laughter.

Zucker’s “Master Crash” course, opening Aug. 4, lets the comedy maestro share some of the lessons he’s learned through 40-plus years of comedy filmmaking.

It’s both a spoof of recent, celebrity-driven Master Class video tutorials and a sincere peek at his comedy perspective.

There’s one problem.

“The Naked Gun” looks to have a modest opening weekend despite the dearth of big-screen comedies.

Variety reports the film is looking at a $15-17 million haul against both “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” and the “Superman” reboot.

Those aren’t disastrous numbers, but for a legacy reboot getting social media love it’s a tad low. Audiences are starved for laughter, witness the glut of comedy podcasts and stand-ups filling arenas across the country (Sebastian Maniscalco, Jim Gaffigan, Nate Bargatze).

“The Naked Gun” promises a return to old-school yuks. The film’s marketing team is banking on it.

Word of mouth may be the game-changer for “The Naked Gun.” If audiences agree with most movie critics, the film could have a healthy run in theaters, especially since August is a less competitive time for summer movie releases.

If so, Zucker and his iconic “Naked Gun” saga will have the last laugh.