‘The Naked Gun’ reboot: All about the slapstick franchise’s new cast, release date, and more

The Naked Gun, one of the silliest franchises of the last half-century, returns with a crash, splat, and ka-pow this summer.

Liam Neeson will star in an upcoming reboot of the iconic franchise from director Akiva Schaffer, the Lonely Island alum behind cult classics like Hot Rod (2007) and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping (2016). 

Released in 1988, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! parodied police procedurals via rapid-fire jokes, zany slapstick, and a deeply committed lead performance by Leslie Nielsen as the sweet (and dim) Lt. Frank Drebin.

The reboot has been in the works since 2013, but it picked up steam once Family Guy and Ted mastermind Seth MacFarlane came on as a producer in 2021.

So, is it a sequel or a new story? What’s it about? Who’s joining Neeson in the cast? Will they address the O.J. Simpson of it all? Read on for everything we know about The Naked Gun reboot.

Is there a Naked Gun trailer?

There are two. In April 2025, a teaser trailer for The Naked Gun debuted at CinemaCon, an annual event for Hollywood studios and exhibitors.

In June 2025, Paramount released a proper trailer for the reboot. The clip demonstrates a strong grasp of what made the original series so funny — madcap zaniness anchored by an unflappable straight man.

The trailer also highlights some of Schaffer’s stylistic flourishes, such as bodycam-POV footage that evokes the chaos of shows like Cops and Live PD.

Both trailers feature a well-executed joke involving Simpson, the elephant in the room. (One of the most notorious cultural figures of the last several decades, Simpson was a key part of the original franchise as Det. Fred Nordberg.)

What is The Naked Gun about?

The Naked Gun is a direct sequel to the original trilogy, with Neeson playing Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., son of Nielsen’s bumbling lawman. “Only one man has the particular set of skills… to lead Police Squad and save the world!” reads the official logline. “Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. follows in his father’s footsteps in The Naked Gun.”

In an amusing send-up of Hollywood’s penchant for making reboot characters related to original franchise players, the trailers also introduce children of George Kennedy’s Ed Hocken and Simpson’s Nordberg, the former of which is played by Paul Water Hauser.

As we see in the trailer, The Naked Gun will task Frank with helping Pamela Anderson’s Beth catch her brother’s killer. That case finds Frank running afoul of a big bad played by Danny Huston. Perhaps most importantly, however, Frank’s success is also dependent on whether or not Police Squad is shut down and turned into a Spirit Halloween.

Who’s in the new Naked Gun cast?

Neeson leads The Naked Gun as Frank Drebin Jr. It’s an inspired casting choice, as Neeson’s steely countenance and dramatic background make him the perfect straight man for the franchise’s token zaniness. Lest we forget, Nielsen was similarly a dramatic actor who found a second life in comedy thanks to Airplane! (1980).

Neeson has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and three Golden Globes. He achieved critical success in films like Sam Raimi’s Darkman (1990) and Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List (1993). He’s also notably portrayed Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace (1999) and Ra’s al Ghul in Batman Begins (2005). After starring in Taken (2008), he shifted his focus to hard-edged action and revenge films like The Grey (2011), Non-Stop (2014), and Retribution (2023).

Speaking with MovieWeb in 2024, Neeson admitted he was “a bit nervous” about the role since comedy isn’t his wheelhouse. In that same interview, though, he noted his comedic appearance on the HBO mockumentary Life’s Too Short (2011), which shows that, yes, he can absolutely do comedy.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Anderson called her chemistry with Neeson “electric,” adding, “I am in awe of him, his experience, and work ethic. I soaked him in like a sponge.”

Anderson (Baywatch, The Last Showgirl) will play a femme fatale in the vein of Priscilla Presley’s Jane Spencer from the original films. “It is the same depth of process for a high comedy as it is for a drama,” Anderson told EW. “I worked hard on the role, another cathartic experience. Every film, it seems, tackles a deep-seated issue that needs to be expressed and surfaced in ways other than anything else.”

Hauser costars as Ed Hocken Jr., the son of George Kennedy’s captain from the original franchise. The actor first made waves in I, Tanya (2017) and as the title character in Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell (2019). He’s since won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his turn as convicted murderer Larry Hall in the Apple TV+ series Black Bird (2022).

“I have the feeling we did a good job in honoring our source material, Naked Gun,” Hauser told MovieWeb. “And there aren’t that many people that would fearlessly walk into that Leslie Nielsen-type role, and Liam did it incredibly well. I had times where he made me break character because he’s just doing the deadpan thing that he’s able to do with action and intensity, but the content of what he’s saying is so ridiculous. There were times where they yelled ‘cut,’ and it was like letting a balloon out, where I was just like, ‘Oh my god,’ you know? Just an exhausted laughter because you’re trying to keep it together during the take.”

Huston, a veteran of Yellowstone (2018–2019) and Succession (2019), appears to be playing the film’s big bad. Rounding out the cast are Liza Koshy (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts), Kevin Durand (Lost, Abigail), and CCH Pounder (The Shield, NCIS: New Orleans), as well as WWE star Cody Rhodes.

When is The Naked Gun coming out?

The Naked Gun will hit theaters on Aug. 1 via Paramount Pictures.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free daily newsletter to get breaking news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more