NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Lt. Frank Drebin is back on the case.
Paramount Pictures is moving ahead with a long-gestating remake of 鈥淣aked Gun,鈥 the studio announced Wednesday. Liam Neeson will star as the bumbling police detective Debin in the role made famous by Leslie Nielsen.
Akiva Schaffer ("Hot Rod," 鈥淧op Star: Never Stop Stopping鈥) will direct the , set for release in July 2025. The script is by Dan Gregor, Doug Man and Schaffer, who collaborated on 2022's 鈥淐hip 'N Dale: Rescue Rangers.鈥
The 鈥淣aked Gun鈥 films, derived from the TV series 鈥淧olice Squad!", were high-water marks for slapstick comedy. They ran over six years: 鈥淭he Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad鈥 (1988), 鈥淭he Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear鈥 (1991) and 鈥淣aked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult鈥 (1994).
Nielsen died in 2010 at the age of 84. Before playing Lt. Drebin, Nielsen had been largely a dramatic actor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been dawning on me slowly that for the past 35 years I have been cast against type,鈥 Nielsen once said, 鈥渁nd I鈥檓 finally getting to do what I really wanted to do.鈥
The Associated Press