Naked Gun Trailer Teases Goofy Action and Classic Puns

The unmistakable clomp of Michael Paré’s wooden leg hitting the pavement is soon to be heard in theaters across the globe after Paramount greenlit a new Naked Gun feature this August. Released 35 years after The Naked Gun 33
8: The Final Insult, the fourth installment in the Naked Gun series is being called a legacy sequel following Leslie Nielsens Frank Drebin in the characters most recent incarnation of Drebin Jr., as played by Liam Neeson.

Nielsen first took on the role of the dimwitted police detective in the Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, which was released in 1988. Drebins first case involved an assassination plot against Queen Elizabeth II during a state visit to Washington, D.C. In a subsequent case, Drebin must deal with a kidnapping plot in The Naked Gun 2
8: The Smell of Fear in 1991. In 1994s Naked Gun 33
8: The Final Insult, Drebin retires from the police force to work in a lumber yard but reenters the fray to deal with an assassination plot on the Academy Awards. A few failed attempts at a reboot later, Liam Neeson will take on the role of Drebin Jr. in the upcoming film.

The Long Wait to Return to the Frying Pan

While the first Naked Gun made nearly $60 million at the box office, its follow-ups have left much to be desired. The franchise saw Drebin being revamped in 2013, with star Ed Helms reinterpreting the character as Frank Drebin, no relation to the original from the first three films.

Paramount had plans for a Naked Gun reboot at the time, but things never came to fruition. One of the primary reasons it didnt work out is that the original producer and director of the first two films, David Zucker, wasnt on board. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Zucker expressed that any new films in the franchise would be inferior to the previous movies.

In 2017, Zucker had a brief return to the role of producer with the Drebin reboot. The star of this entry would have been the son of Frank Drebin, a police lieutenant who works for the local PD in the event of the original series film Police Squad! The film would have involved Drebin Jr. working undercover at a remote Army base as a secret agent.

A Near Instantaneous Return of the Frying Pan

Zucker returned to the world of Police Squad! This time, with Seth MacFarlane in 2021, actor Liam Neeson joined the cast to play Drebins son in the film. The announcement of his return to the fold left a lot of fans scratching their heads. After all, in Neesons most famous role, hes not so much known for the one-liners. The man is taken.

Following the release of the films first teaser trailer in April, Zucker shared with TMZ his regrets about watching the release of trailer, saying, I cant unsee it.

Fans will likely find some comfort in knowing that Neeson, for one, is certainly looking to get into character for the part, especially if you are a fan of the Taken movies. A parody of his signature particular set of skills whisper from the Taken films seems to play very much into the screwball, frantic comedy of the Naked Gun films. Neeson solemnly intones, Once you kill a man for revenge, theres no going back before ripping off the arms of a knife-wielding attacker, only to whack him with them like a baton. A voice in your head saying over and over, That was awesome, he continues.

Fans can also expect some touching homages to the old guard of the franchise. The latest trailer had Frank and Ed Jr. tearing up in front of a plaque memorializing the older generation of their Police Squad. So while the mourning may be in tandem with the current zeitgeist, some may think its for the wrong generation.

But hey, the Naked Gun isnt exactly the Intellectuals Guide to Interrogation. After all, it is a parody of crime films that wears its goofiness proudly. The plot? Well, thats only secondary to the comedy, but if one were to hazard a guess, it goes something like this: Beth (Pamela Anderson) is the woman in the bullet-proof bed from the films trailer. Her brother has been murdered, and shes come to Drebin Jr. for help. If he cant solve the case, the Police Squad will be disbanded.

Needless to say, the man isnt averse to cracking a few bad jokes himself to convey the urgency of the situation. There is an exchange between Drebin and an interrogated suspect about the nature of the killing for which he was imprisoned for 20 years, claiming to have served the time for mans laughter. Drebin jumps in to correct the man, asking if it was manslaughter instead. The suspect is unfazed as Drebin looks on in disgust. Must have been quite the joke, he replies dryly.

From donning a Shield as a Cue to take a Bathroom Break at a Coffee Shop to Cleaving Heads from Decapitated Bodies in that same Clearance Line, Neeson is more than up for the challenge of following in the footsteps of Frank Drebin, no matter how clumsy they may be.

The humor will always be hit or miss since it is broad, pun-filled, and astonishingly dumb. Its a direct play to that formula, of course, and what fans of the original films will find endearing. But regardless of that, this new entry into one of the most respected spoof comedies will be a fun return to the goofy antics of Frank Drebin when it hits theaters in August 2025.