Academy Award nominee-turned-aged action star Liam Neeson has offered a promising update on the long-mooted reboot of the classic cop comedy, The Naked Gun. Neeson has been attached to the role of Detective Frank Drebin, played in the original trilogy by the beloved Leslie Nielsen, since as far back as 2015, with the Taken star now revealing that the project is still very much in development.

"Yes, we're waiting on a script. Yeah, we're hoping it'll happen this year, maybe in the summertime."

Speaking with Collider, Neeson not only revealed that a script is being worked on but hopes they will begin filming the project later this year. A fourth outing in The Naked Gun franchise has been in the works since even further back in time, around 2009, in fact. While that might make you think the reboot is not of the highest priority for those involved, Neeson states that this is not the case at all, declaring that he, Seth MacFarlane, and Paramount are eager to get started.

"Yeah, Paramount Studios, I think. I approached Seth MacFarlane, he and his team are working on it, the scripts. So, we’re hoping to go in the summertime, you know?"

Beginning first as the short-lived series Police Squad! in 1982, The Naked Gun went on to spawn a trilogy of movies with Leslie Nielson’s "detective with a heart of gold and a brain of wood,” Frank Drebin at their center. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! was released in 1988 and finds Drebin attempting to thwart a plan to assassinate the Queen of England. Much slapstick, sight gags, and quick-witted dialogue ensues.

Directed by David Zucker and written by Jerry Zucker, Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Pat Proft, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! was both a critical and commercial success, leading to two sequels in The Naked Gun 2+1⁄2: The Smell of Fear in 1991 and Naked Gun 33+1⁄3: The Final Insult in 1994.

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Liam Neeson Has Been attached to The Naked Gun Reboot for Some Time

Liam Neeson in 2008's Taken
EuropaCorp

Rumors of Liam Neeson joining The Naked Gun reboot began to take hold in 2021, with further speculation adding that he could be playing the son of Frank Drebin rather than Drebin himself. However things shake out, Neeson is excited to continue the legacy of The Naked Gun.

"I know Seth and his team are working on a draft, I'm very excited, and I think and hope Seth might be directing it himself,” Neeson said of the project in 2021. “No date has been set, I think, I believe it's Paramount Pictures that approached Seth, and Seth approached me. This was about a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago. So it'll either ruin my career, whatever's left of it, or I'll find another little adventure, you know?"

While known for his dramatic and gruff action hero roles, Neeson has dabbled in comedy many times over the years with the likes of A Million Ways to Die in the West, Ted 2, Family Guy, The Orville, The Lego Movie, and a recent cameo in Derry Girls. No doubt Neeson’s straight-laced, serious persona will work perfectly when added to the world of The Naked Gun.

Set to be directed by Akiva Schaffer, written by Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, and with Seth MacFarlane and Erica Huggins serving as producers, The Naked Gun reboot does not yet have a release date.