Making a new Naked Gun movie without Leslie Nielsen may seem sacrilegious, but the right director and star can turn Bad Idea Jeans into Good Idea Jeggings.
Paramount has set release dates (via THR) for several upcoming films, including a reboot of The Naked Gun, based on the 1988 comedy movie directed by David Zucker. The new Naked Gun will hit theaters on July 28, 2025. Also known as The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, the film was based on the far less successful Police Squad! TV series starring Leslie Nielsen as inept police lieutenant Frank Drebin. Nielsen reprised the role in two sequels.
Paramount first announced plans for a Naked Gun reboot back in 2022, but we all have pandemic-induced goldfish brains now, so if you’re like me, you forgot all about it. You also probably forgot that Liam Neeson is playing Frank Drebin, the character iconically played by the late Leslie Nielsen—a real-deal Actor who parlayed his straight-man persona into an incredible comedic career. Like his predecessor, Neeson is a serious actor with surprising comedic chops. See: The LEGO Movie, Life’s Too Short.
The Naked Gun reboot will be directed by Akiva Schaffer, one-third of The Lonely Island and the filmmaker behind Hot Rod, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping, and 2022’s live-action/animation hybrid Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers. Seth MacFarlane is producing the new Naked Gun, which features a script by Schaffer and Chip ‘n Dale co-writers Dan Gregor and Doug Man.
(featured image: Dave J. Hogan/Getty Images)
