Worldwide, The Naked Gun will have recouped its $42 million budget by its second weekend. And with the movie being one of the best-reviewed of the year and generating a refreshed interest in slapstick comedy, we have to wonder if there will be a Naked Gun 5. But from the files of Liam Neeson, that seems unlikely.
Liam Neeson recently told Newsweek that The Naked Gun 5 isn’t in the cards, no matter how well it fares at the box office. “I think it’s a one-off, yeah. And if it succeeds, good.”
While those that have dug The Naked Gun so far (and we loved it, giving it an 8/10, quite rare for a comedy) might be disheartened to hear Neeson shoot down the idea for The Naked Gun 5, he has a point that we have to celebrate it doing so well with audiences. Hell, even David Zucker – who co-created the original series and has been the most vocal opponent of the fourth movie – has championed its success. As he put it, “I’m excited about it because it just shows that there’s a strong market for comedy in movie theaters, and spoof in particular. People are liking it, which is great. I really like the director, and I just couldn’t wish him more well…”
Of course, the concept of this year’s The Naked Gun being a “one-off” is a bit of a misnomer, as Neeson most certainly means this is a “one-off” in terms of the franchise being brought back. Before this, there were three movies (including the lesser but not outright lousy The Naked Gun 33 ⅓: The Final Insult) and the short-lived Police Squad!, which still stands as one of the funniest shows ever, and that it marked itself as such in just six episodes says something. Tracking-wise, this summer’s The Naked Gun is already a little under halfway to the lifetime box office take of the highest-grossing movie in the series, The Naked Gun 2 ½: The Smell of Fear.
Do you want there to be a Naked Gun 5? Do you think the franchise could continue with Liam Neeson as the lead? Let us know below!
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