Liam Neeson to Star in The Naked Gun Remake, Hitting Theaters July 2025

It has been years since Liam Neeson jokingly told interviewers that a remake of The Naked Gun could either end his career or push it in a completely new direction. Now, that joke is becoming a reality. Paramount Pictures has officially set a release date for its reboot of the classic police spoof, with Neeson in the leading role. The film will open nationwide on July 18, 2025.

A Comedy Classic Reimagined

The new film is a remake of the beloved Naked Gun series, the wildly popular 1980s and 1990s slapstick franchise that made Leslie Nielsen an unlikely comedy superstar. In the original trilogy, Nielsen starred as Detective Frank Drebin, an earnest but hopelessly clumsy cop who stumbles his way through investigations armed with little more than his badge, his gun, and a script full of puns and double entendres.

The series began with The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! in 1988, based on the short-lived television series Police Squad!. It became a box office smash, grossing more than $140 million worldwide. Two sequels followed: The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991) and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994). Together, the franchise earned nearly $500 million globally and cemented its place in comedy history.

Neeson Steps Into Nielsen’s Shoes

Taking on Nielsen’s role is no small task, but Neeson’s dry wit may prove a natural fit for the material. Known for his intense action roles in films like Taken, The Grey, and Non-Stop, Neeson has shown a surprising ability to lean into self-parody in recent years. He has poked fun at his action persona in comedies such as Ted 2 (also from Seth MacFarlane) and in interviews where his deadpan delivery has often gone viral.

Speaking to People (The TV Show!) when the project was first announced in 2022, Neeson admitted he wasn’t sure how it would affect his career: “It could either end it, or take it in another direction. I honestly don’t know.”

That uncertainty mirrors the path of Leslie Nielsen himself. Before The Naked Gun, Nielsen was largely known as a serious dramatic actor, appearing in films like Forbidden Planet (1956) and The Poseidon Adventure (1972). His sudden reinvention as a comedy icon in Airplane! (1980) paved the way for his career-defining turn as Drebin.

A Strong Creative Team

Backing Neeson is an experienced creative team. Seth MacFarlane, creator of Family Guy, is producing the project through his company Fuzzy Door Productions. MacFarlane has long expressed admiration for the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker school of absurdist comedy that birthed Airplane! and The Naked Gun.

Directing will be Akiva Schaffer, one-third of the comedy trio The Lonely Island. Schaffer’s credits include the cult mockumentary Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016) and the Emmy-winning Disney+ film Chip ’n Dale: Rescue Rangers (2022), both of which combined rapid-fire parody with modern sensibilities.

Together, the team suggests a blend of reverence for the original material and an eye toward updating its humor for contemporary audiences.

Why Now?

The announcement comes amid a wave of Hollywood reboots and remakes that revisit 1980s and 1990s franchises for a new generation. Nostalgia-driven projects have proven reliable box office draws, but comedy reboots are trickier. Success often depends on capturing the spirit of the original while avoiding stale repetition.

For The Naked Gun, the challenge will be balancing the slapstick and wordplay that fans loved with fresh jokes that resonate in 2025. Neeson’s casting as the lead is itself a kind of meta-gag: the stone-faced action hero thrust into a world of absurd pratfalls and misunderstandings.

What to Expect

Details of the plot remain under wraps, but industry insiders suggest that Neeson will play a new version of Frank Drebin or possibly a relative, passing the torch while still channeling the iconic character’s bumbling determination.

What is clear is that the remake will retain the original’s DNA: exaggerated set-pieces, sight gags, and endless pun-laden dialogue. With MacFarlane producing and Schaffer directing, fans can expect a mix of old-school parody and modern self-awareness.

A New Direction for Neeson?

For Neeson, The Naked Gun may mark a turning point. After nearly 15 years of action films that earned him a reputation as Hollywood’s go-to “everyman with a particular set of skills,” the actor has hinted at slowing down. Transitioning into comedy could offer both a career reinvention and a chance to show a lighter side to audiences who know him mostly from grim thrillers.

Just as Nielsen was redefined by Drebin, Neeson could find a second act in comedy — or at the very least, prove that his talents extend far beyond gunfights and kidnappings.

The Final Word

Fans won’t have to wait long to see how Neeson handles the legacy. The Naked Gun is set to hit theaters on July 18, 2025, right in the middle of blockbuster season. Whether it sparks a new wave of parody films or simply serves as a nostalgic tribute to one of the funniest franchises of the past 40 years, it will undoubtedly be one of the summer’s most-watched comedies.

Until then, audiences can only imagine: Liam Neeson, dead serious as ever, slipping on a banana peel or bungling an arrest. For fans of both action and comedy, that image alone may be worth the ticket.