“I Have a Very Particular Set of Jokes”: Liam Neeson Set to Star in New “Naked Gun” for Paramount

Naked Gun is ready for a reboot at Paramount, and a venerable action star known for playing ruthlessly efficient types is ready to become a bumbling detective prone to hilarious catastrophes.

The studio confirmed that the goofball police comedy that starred Leslie Nielsen as the absurdly incompetent detective Frank Drebin is getting rebooted, with none other than Liam Neeson set to play Frank Drebin Jr., is headed to theaters in 2025. The film comes from director Akiva Schaffer, a longtime Saturday Night Live writer and director of the Andy Samberg-led Pop Star: Never Stop Never Stopping. Seth McFarlane is on board as a producer. Putting Neeson through his absurdist paces as Drebin Jr. alone will be worth the price of admission.

The new Naked Gun joins a slew of upcoming titles Paramount announced. A new film action film from directors Robert Olsen and Dan Berk called Novocaine, starring Jack Quaid and Amber Midthunder, is coming to theaters on March 14, 2025. The film is centered on Quaid’s bank executive, who has the unusual ability to feel no pain, a bug that becomes a feature when his bank is robbed. Then there’s Vicious, set for an August 8, 2025 release, directed by Bryan Bertino and starring Dakota Fanning as a woman who fights for her life over the course of a single night after receiving a strange gift. The musical Better Man, starring British singer Robbie Williams as himself and directed by Michael Gracey, has a limited release set for Christmas Day this year and then goes wide on January 17, 2025. Then there’s a new PAW Patrol heading to theaters on July 31, 2026, followed by director Jeff Rowe’s sequel, TMNT2, which is slated for an October 9, 2026 release

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