Liam Neeson Being Courted To Star In A ‘Naked Gun’ Reboot From Director Akiva Schaffer

Are you missing Police Squad Sgt. Frank Drebin in your life? Of course, you are; you’re only human. Writer/director/comedian Akiva Schaffer seems to understand this, as does Paramount and apparently Liam Neeson. That’s right, we’re getting a “Naked Gun” reboot from Schaffer, known for his Lonely Island comedies with Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone, Paramount, and Neeson in the starring made famous by Leslie Nielsen in the 1980s and then again in the 1990s.

Or at least that’s the idea. According to Deadline, Schaffer, and Seth McFarlane (“Ted,” “The Orville”), one of the producers on the film are courting Neeson to take the role, and the actor is currently in talks.

READ MORE: Liam Neeson Says ‘Taken’ Was An “Accident” & He Thought The Film Would Go “Straight-To-Video”

“The Naked Gun” franchise was an extremely beloved slapstick comedy series from the Zucker Brothers and Abrahams — the comedy trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker— that started in 1988 with “The Naked Gun.” “The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear” followed in 1991, and “Naked Gun 33+1/3: The Final Insult” in 1994. Nielsen passed away in 2010 at the age of 84.

Schaffer, who has helmed comedies such as “Hot Rod,” “The Watch,” and “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” is set to direct, and while no greenlight has been given, sources tell the trade its headed in that direction once a deal closes for Neeson.

“The Naked Gun” series actually started as “Police Squad,” a crime spoof-comedy television series on ABC in 1982 that only ran one season, but it was hilarious, deeply loved, and became the launching pad for the series with most of the same characters six years later in feature film form.

Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who recently worked with Schaffer on the Emmy-winning “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers” film, will write the script. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Neeson might be playing the son of Detective Frank Drebin instead of stepping into the main role. Drebin, in the film, was basically an incompetent nincompoop and nitwit, but he somehow always managed to get his man in the end. The films are largely considered classic modern-day slapstick comedies along with the “Hot Shots!” series they made and, before that, “Airplane” and “Top Secret.”

Schaffer got his big break through “Saturday Night Live,” making Digital Shorts with his Lonely Island crew. While Neeson may not seem like the obvious choice, he has worked with MacFarlane on his comedies in the past (“Ted 2,” “Family Guy,” “A Million Ways to Die in the West”), and it was that writer/director who approached him with the role. There are no start dates or any of that yet, but the project sounds very promising.