“What a way to ruin the film”- Fans left dissatisfied with The Naked Gun reboot trailer

The official trailer for The Naked Gun reboot has been released. The trailer features humorous comedy, along with action scenes that are quite flashy and stylish.

According to the official trailer, actor Liam Neeson will play Frank Drebin Jr., the son of Frank Drebin, the main character from the first three films and the 1980s-1990s TV show Police Squad. The character was previously played by Leslie Nielsen.

The trailer also includes a joke referencing O.J. Simpson, a former NFL football player, who later became a Hollywood actor and played Detective Nordberg in all three of the previous Naked Gun films.

However, his acting career suffered after 1994, when he was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown, and her friend Ron Goldman, as per AOL. Although he was later acquitted, the case remained controversial.

The Naked Gun series is referenced in the new trailer through a small visual joke. In the last scene of the trailer, several police officers kneel in front of photos of their dead fathers. Most of the officers get emotional when they see their father's photo, but when Nordberg's photo is shown, his son reacts quite differently. He looks at the camera and shakes his head in disappointment.

Fans quickly shared their reactions to the Simpson prank and criticized it.

An x user @supremo_web3, commented:

"What a way to ruin the film!"

Many others had similar comments to add to this.

"Liam Nelson. A guy who is not a comedian. Won't be funny," another user commented.

"Just because they have the same initials, that does not imply that Liam Neeson could hold a candle to Leslie Nielson's performance in the original," another user added.

"All up for Liam Neeson in a witty and deadpan extension of The Naked Gun world, but that trailer is awful, and Seth MacFarlane is no Zucker, Abrahams & Zucker," another user said.

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What is The Naked Gun all about? Explored

The Naked Gun is directed by Akiva Schaffer, a member of the popular digital and film comedy group The Lonely Island. The film is being produced by Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins.

Paramount's original The Naked Gun trilogy starred Leslie Nielsen as Franklin 'Frank' Drebin, an honest but somewhat naive police detective. The series was a comedic parody of police investigation films. The first film, The Naked Gun: From the Files of a Police Squad, released in 1988, received positive reviews and earned nearly $140 million at the box office.

The franchise's success led to two more films:

1. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
2. Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult

Paramount Studios has been trying to reboot the film series since 2013. Actor Ed Helms was initially cast to play Frank Drebin in the reboot, but that version of the project eventually stalled and was not completed.

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After the film's trailer was released, fans gave mixed reactions. Many people expressed their displeasure over the fact that Liam Neeson has been cast in the lead role in the film, while some also criticized the jokes related to O.J. Simpson.

There are some things in the trailer that remind of the old films, such as showing the sons of old characters and some old styles of comedy. However, fans believe that Liam Neeson does not have the comic timing that Leslie Nielsen had. People openly said on social media that the trailer broke their expectations.

Although The Naked Gun is being made by talented people like Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane and Akiva Schaffer, fans still seem a little disappointed after watching the trailer. Now, all eyes are on the release of the film to see if this reboot will be able to match the old series or not.

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The Naked Gun reboot will hit theaters on August 1, 2025.