Liam Neeson, the man with a particular set of skills, is embracing his comedic chops in The Naked Gun trailer. It was initially revealed at the CinemaCon 2025, saying it is:
"The single most important Naked Gun movie since the other Naked Gun movies."
It serves as a reboot of The Naked Gun movies that spoofed the cop drama tropes with its unabashedly silly humor. So, The Lonely Island's Akiva Schaffer and Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane seem like a dream team to bring an unpretentious silliness with a fresh approach. Schaffer serves as a co-writer and director while MacFarlane is a co-producer, who has reportedly helped bring this project to the light. The film's official logline says:
"Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead the Police Squad and save the world! Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) follows in his father's footsteps in THE NAKED GUN."
The one-minute trailer offers nods to the older The Naked Gun movie characters in a unique way and is filled with one hysterical moment after another. Let's break down the same clip.
The Naked Gun official trailer shows Liam Neeson in strawberry-printed attire
Liam Neeson is back to fighting baddies in the latest reboot of The Naked Gun. However, this time, the 72-year-old actor is not playing a disgruntled father trying to save his kidnapped daughter. Instead, he plays a police officer who appears in the trailer in a particularly eyebrow-raising attire. The trailer revolves around a hostage situation, with a SWAT unit gathering around the building, hoping to find a secure way in.
While the cops are trying their best to control the bystanders, a young schoolgirl walks over to the building without any fear. She holds a lollipop and wears a maroon-colored berrett and sweater. Before the cops can stop her, she enters the building. A kidnapper asks:
"What do you want?"
The next moment, she takes off her mask, like Tom Cruise in the Mission Impossible movies. She is, in fact, Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. in disguise. Still dressed in that school uniform, Drebin Jr. starts slaying the kidnappers with his lollipop—quite similar to how John Wick might kill his opponents with a pencil! The madness doesn't end there. Soon, Drebin Jr. places his foot on a stool and victoriously presents his strawberry-printed underwear.
In this new version, Liam Neeson plays Frank Drebin Jr., who takes the reins from Leslie Nielsen's Frank Drebin. Similarly, Paul Walter Hauser's Ed Hocken Jr. follows in the footsteps of Ed Hocken. They both appear in the final moments of the trailer, kneeling in front of their seniors. Other officers join including a young man Det. Nordberg, played by OJ Simpson. He nods disapprovingly for fairly self-evident reasons!
Liam Neeson brings a new version of Lt. Frank Drebin in the zany trailer
The Naked Gun started as a television show idea and was eventually turned into a movie in 1988. So, Police Squad! became The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! Its success led to two follow-up projects, in 1991 and 1994, respectively. They all starred Leslie Nielsen as a hapless officer, trying to crack criminal cases with his limited set of skills. Most of them relied on the comedy of errors and Nielsen's deadpan humor.
Judging by the trailer, Liam Neeson's reboot might take a slightly different approach with its protagonist. Neeson's Drebin Jr. seems skilled but is part of a romp, just as outlandishly goofy as the original. It might rely more on the comedy of errors and slapstick humor. That doesn't seem like a difficult task for its helmer Akiva Schaffer, who rose to fame with his work on Saturday Night Live and spoof-music group The Lonely Island.
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The Naked Gun is set to hit the theaters on August 1, 2025.
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