First look at The Naked Gun reboot: Liam Neeson takes on the iconic role in the new trailer release

By Deepti Sequeira

Modified Apr 05, 2025 11:36 GMT

Liam Neeson as seen in The Naked Gun reboot film (Custom cover edited by Sportskeeda, Original Image [Paramount Pictures])

CinemaCon released the official trailer and poster for the upcoming reboot film, The Naked Gun, on April 3, 2025. Liam Neeson stars in the leading role of detective Frank Drebin Jr., son of the bumbling cop made famous by the Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Akiva Schaffer has directed the cop comedy film from a screenplay co-written by Dan Gregor, Doug Mand, and Schaffer. The film's producers include Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins. It is the fourth film in The Naked Gun franchise, which includes three films released between 1988 and 1994.

The Naked Gun was originally scheduled to release in theaters on July 18, 2025, but it was pushed to August 1, 2025.

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Everything to know about The Naked Gun reboot film

The minute-long teaser trailer begins with a bank robbery scene, with police cars waiting outside for a tense standoff. One of the policemen watches a young schoolgirl sneaking inside the bank. When confronted by one of the robbers, she takes off her mask and reveals herself to be Liam Neeson. Using the lollipop as a weapon, he disarms the robbers and introduces himself, "Frank Drebin, Police Squad, the new version."

At CinemaCon, audience members got a sneak peek at extended footage of The Naked Gun reboot film. These included Neeson using a man's own dismembered arms to smack him. Another scene features Neeson and Pamela Anderson engaging in a seemingly se*ual activity. Furthermore, the absurd comedy takes a jab at O.J. Simpson, who was a part of the last three films as detective Nordberg.

Neeson is also seen interrogating Busta Rhymes's character with this funny one-liner:

"It says you’ve served 20 years for man’s laughter, must have been quite the joke."

Liam Neeson's character, Frank Drebin Jr., is the son of the legendary detective Frank Drebin from the first three films in the series. In addition to Neeson, the movie features Pamela Anderson, Kevin Durand, Paul Walter Hauser, Liza Koshy, Eddy Yu, Cody Rhodes, Danny Huston, and CCH Pounder in supporting roles.

On October 25, 2024, the 72-year-old Neeson gushed about his co-star, Pamela Anderson, by telling People Magazine:

"With Pamela, first off, I'm madly in love with her. She's just terrific to work with. I can't compliment her enough, I'll be honest with you. No huge ego. She just comes in to do the work. She's funny and so easy to work with. She's going to be terrific in the film."

Pamela, who plays a femme fatale in the comedy film, responded in kind by calling her co-star "the perfect gentleman."

The Naked Gun originally starred Leslie Nielsen in the lead role

The Naked Gun franchise includes a short television series, titled Police Squad!, from 1982 and three films, all starring the late Canadian actor Leslie Nielsen as the cop, Frank Drebin.

David Zucker directed the first film in the series, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! It was released on December 2, 1988. He returned to direct the sequel, The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear, which was released on June 28, 1991. The third film in the trilogy, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, was helmed by Peter Segal, and it hit theaters on March 18, 1994.

Among the actors who starred in the trilogy are Priscilla Presley, O. J. Simpson, George Kennedy, Ricardo Montalbán, Nancy Marchand, Robert Goulet, Richard Griffiths, Anthony James, Tim O'Connor, Jacqueline Brookes, Fred Ward, Kathleen Freeman, Anna Nicole Smith, Ed Williams, Olympia Dukakis, Ellen Greene, and many others.

Made on a budget of $65 million, the trilogy grossed over $216 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.

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About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie as she enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

Edited by Somava