Liam Neeson's The Naked Gun Reboot Gets 2025 Release Date From Paramount
One of the biggest comedy franchises of the '80s and '90s is back
The next installment in The Naked Gun franchise will be in theaters next year, Paramount Global announced today. The company announced a number of 2025 and 2026 release dates today, putting together an ambitious franchise calendar that includes new installments of last year's biggest Paramount hits, PAW Patrol and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Naked Gun, still technically untitled, has been in development Hell for a while, but has now emerged with a July 15, 2025 release date on the books. Taken and Star Wars franchise veteran Liam Neeson is set to star, although it isn't clear whether he will play Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen's character from Police Squad and The Naked Gun) or a new-but-similar character.
The world of The Naked Gun debuted in Police Squad!, a short-lived TV series from the filmmakers who created Airplane!, in 1982. While the show failed to set the world on fire, a 1988 feature film titled Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, became a massive hit at the box office, earning more than $150 million against a reported budget of just $12 million. Two more installments -- Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear and Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult -- followed in 1991 and 1994.
According to Variety, who first reported the date, The Naked Gun project will be directed and executive produced by Avika Schaffer, who co-wrote the draft script alongside Dan Gregor and Doug Man. Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins are producing via their company Fuzzy Door.
It might seem strange for someone with the action bona fides of Liam Neeson to be pursuing a Naked Gun franchise, but it tracks with Leslie Nielsen's career trajectory. Nielsen starred in a series of straightforward dramas, sometimes playing villains, for much of his career. It wasn't until he appeared in Airplane! in 1980 that Nielsen -- an actor onscreen for 25 years at that point -- became known for his comedy chops. That gig led to Police Squad! and the rest was history, with a whole generation of viewers growing up knowing Nielsen primarily as Frank Drebin.
The original Naked Gun films also starred Priscilla Presley, O.J. Simpson, "Weird Al" Yankovic (in cameos as himself), and the late George Kennedy. Ed Williams, also known for roles in Father of the Bride and Carnosaur, was the only person besides Nielsen to appear in all three movies and Police Squad!. The last time the franchise attempted anythign was in 2012, when a point-and-click PC game called Naked Gun: ICUP was released. Parodying the naming conventions of shows like NCIS and CSI, the game earned just a 60 on Metacritic, and was the first (and so far only) piece of Naked Gun media not to star Nielsen, who passed away in 2011. A.J. LoCascio starred in the game as Frank's son, who had been seen briefly in Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult.