A reboot of The Naked Gun, which has been in the works for a number of years, finally has a release date.
On Friday Paramount Pictures announced the still untitled comedy cop film, starring Liam Neeson in the role of the incompetent police officer Frank Drebin, will hit theaters July 15, 2025, according to a number of publication that includes Variety.
The new movie will be based off the popular Naked Gun film franchise and television series Police Squad! created by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker that starred the late great Leslie Nielsen.
Akiva Schaffer, who co-wrote the draft screenplay with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, will serve as the director and executive producer. The trio had previously worked together on the live-action and animation hybrid Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022).
Schaffer, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand wrote an updated draft of the script from the previous draft that had contributions from Seth MacFarlane, Mark Hentemann and Alec Sulkin.
Paramount announced the reboot of The Naked Gun film franchise, starring Liam Neeson in the iconic role of Lieutenant Frank Drebin, will premiere in theaters on July 15, 2025
Neeson takes over the role of Lieutenant Frank Drebin from the late actor Leslie Nielson, who starred in the original series the franchise is based on, Police Squad! (1982), and the three films (1988-1994) that were all hits at the box office
So far, little is known about the story for the reboot, but it’s likely the famed team of writers will cleverly incorporate the ‘very particular set of skills’ Neeson has acquired while playing his action hero persona of recent years, including Bryan Mills in the Taken (2008-2014) franchise.
While fan will have to remain patient to see exactly how far filmmakers will go in lampooning Neeson’s own action man image, he takes over for Nielsen, an acclaimed actor and comedian who passed away in November 2010 at the age of 84.
The Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada native had a career spanning 60 years, dating back to 1950, during which he appeared in more than 100 films and 150 television programs, while portraying more than 220 characters.
Fans were first introduced to Nielsen as Franklin ‘Frank’ Drebin on the ABC crime spoof-comedy television series Police Squad! (1982).
Parodying police procedurals, the series featured the use of sight gags, wordplay and over-the-top comedic humor during its one season run.
Although the show was canceled after just six episodes, it would be followed up by the wildly successful film series six years later, with Nielsen back as Lieutenant Frank Drebin, and Priscilla Presley, George Kennedy and OJ Simpson in supporting roles in all three films.
Receiving critical acclaim upon its release, The Naked Gun: From the Files Of Police Squad! (1988) went on to become a big commercial hit as well, grossing $152.4 million against budget of just $12 million.
David Zucker served as the director and co-writer while working on the script with Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Pat Proft.
The new untitled reboot movie will be based off the popular Naked Gun film franchise and television series Police Squad! created by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker
The original film version, The Naked Gun (1988), has since been widely regarded as one of the greatest comedy films of all time
The original film version has since been widely regarded as one of the greatest comedy films of all time.
For the first sequel – The Naked Gun 2+1⁄2: The Smell Of Fear (1991) – David Zucker helmed the production after co-writing the script Pat Proft.
It was an even bigger commercial hit, raking in $192 million at the box office from a $23 million budget.
Akiva Schaffer were serve as director, cowriter and executive producer of the reboot, while Seth MacFarlane, wo whelp writer the first draft, will produce via his production company Fuzzy Door with Erica Huggins
So far, little is known about the story for the reboot, but it’s likely the famed team of writers will cleverly incorporate the ‘very particular set of skills’ Neeson has acquired while playing his action hero persona of recent years, including Bryan Mills in the Taken (2008-2014) franchise
Peter Segal would take over the director’s duties for the last of the trilogy – Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994) – with David Zucker, Proft and Robert LoCash serving as the writing team, and go on to earn $132 million from a budget of $30 million.
MacFarlane and Erica Huggins are producing the new reboot via their company Fuzzy Door, and is expected to start principal photography before the e of 2024.
The production, which is a joint venture between Fuzzy Door and Paramount Pictures, is expected to begin principal photography before the end of 2024.
While the Naked Gun reboot hits theaters July 18, 2025, the original 1988 movie with Nielsen is currently streaming on Paramount+.
