Paramount Pictures announced a series of films that will be released in 2025. In addition to Paw Patrol 3 and TMNT 2, the biggest project coming from this announcement is the future reboot of the Naked Gun franchise starring Liam Neeson.
Director Akiva Schaffer (Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers), will direct the newest entry in the comedy franchise with a screenplay co-written by him, Dan Gregor, and Doug Mand. In an interview earlier this year, producer Seth Macfarlane confirmed that the screenplay had already been written and was waiting for the green light from the studio. He confirmed that the project was “very much alive and moving forward.”
Even though this might seem like good news for some fans of the franchise, there has been some skepticism regarding how well the film will recapture the spirit of the original. Late last year, the Hollywood Reporter interviewed Naked Gun’s original director David Zucker and co-writer Pat Proft for the film’s 35th anniversary. When asked about the reboot, they explained they were locked out of the creative process despite having a screenplay for a fourth Naked Gun movie. According to Proft, since Paramount owned the rights, they could do whatever they wanted, stating, “It may come out and may be great — and good for that — but I sure as f**k should be writing it. I should have done this one.”
Zucker met with Schaffer a bit ago and talked about comedy and the film. He stated that Schaffer was a great guy and had plans with Paramount to involve him and Proft, but nothing came of it, saying, “We heard Jon Gonda at Paramount had read the script and laughed all the way through it. But somewhere along the line, they decided not to go with Pat and Mike and me.”
While Zucker had misgivings about being shut out of production, he still pitied the new cast and crew. He recalled how he and Proft were in a meeting with the then-head of production for Paramount, and she complained about “a police officer having to adjust her Kevlar vest or have a breast reduction or something.” Zucker felt that the joke was tamer than anything else they had written, but it was apparently enough to warrant a strong reaction from others, he said, “So I can’t even imagine how they’re limiting whoever does Naked Gun 4 if they’re that frightened.”
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