The world has been without the goofball antics of Lt. Frank Drebin far too long. Until the day Leslie Nielsen died in 2010, fans of The Naked Gun comedies have hoped for some kind of revival. And now it looks like we’re getting one at Paramount, led by Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer and possibly starring Leslie Nielsen.
Deadline reports that The Naked Gun reboot is a go, with Nielsen in talks to play Frank Drebin. Schaffer, who is best known for comedy Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping with his Lonely Island pals Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, is attached to direct. Schaffer also helmed the recent Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers movie that was absolutely awesome this year. Speaking of which, the writers on that animated hit, Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, will pen the latest script, with Seth MacFarlane producing.
The Naked Gun began as a spinoff of the short-lived 1982 series Police Squad! from the team of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker, also creators of the best comedy ever, Top Secret!, along with Hot Shots! and Airplane. In 1988, the lead character Frank Drebin was spun into his own movie with The Naked Gun, followed in 1991 by The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear, and terrible The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult in 1994. Drebin is a well-meaning but idiotic cop who bumbles into one case after another.
I had always hoped Jon Hamm would someday play Drebin, and his recent performance in Confess, Fletch has me thinking this a missed opportunity. But Neeson is also pretty funny when he puts his mind into it, and could knock this out of the park.
