The Naked Gun Reboot: All We Know About Liam Neeson's Comedy Comeback Including Release Date, Cast, Plot and More
Paramount is bringing back the classic The Naked Gun franchise with a new installment, set to release in theaters on August 1, 2025. This reboot is being described as a 'legacy sequel' and features Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Leslie Nielsen's original character from the earlier films.
Directed by Akiva Schaffer (SNL, Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping) and produced by Seth MacFarlane (Family Guy, Ted), the new film brings a fresh take on the spoof-comedy legacy that began in 1988.
Alongside Neeson, the cast features Pamela Anderson as a mysterious femme fatale named Beth, and Paul Walter Hauser as Captain Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy's character from the original films. The ensemble also includes Kevin Durand, Danny Huston, Liza Koshy, Cody Rhodes, CCH Pounder, Busta Rhymes, and Eddy Yu.
Here's what the new trailer reveals
Paramount dropped the new The Naked Gun trailer on June 16. Liam Neeson's version of Drebin appears to embrace slapstick comedy while poking fun at his famous 'particular set of skills' from the Taken films.
In one scene, Drebin says, "Once you kill a man for revenge, there's no going back," before using ripped-off arms as weapons. He follows that up with a voiceover: "That was awesome."
We also see emotional nods to the franchise's legacy as Frank and Ed Jr. stand in front of commemorative plaques honoring their fathers. In one classic joke, Drebin interrogates a suspect who served 20 years for 'man's laughter,' only to be corrected that it was 'manslaughter.' Drebin replies: "Must have been quite the joke."
In this new story, Frank Drebin Jr. is a top officer in the elite Police Squad. He's pulled into action when Beth's brother is murdered, and the squad's future is on the line. If Drebin fails to solve the case, the department will be shut down. Of course, the absurd humor remains intact, with Drebin even commandeering a coffee shop restroom for 'police business.'
The original The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! released in 1988 and was followed by two sequels: The Smell of Fear (1991) and The Final Insult (1994). A reboot was first announced in 2013 with Ed Helms, but it never moved forward. Director David Zucker, who helmed the original films, declined involvement, saying it would only be inferior.
While he was briefly part of a 2017 rewrite, that version also stalled. Zucker isn't involved in the current project and told TMZ he regretted watching the teaser, saying, "I can't unsee it."
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