Liam Neeson In Negotiations To Star In 'The Naked Gun' Reboot

Academy Award-nominated actorLiam Neeson might soon fill the shoes of the late, great Leslie Nielsen for a planned reboot of "The Naked Gun" film franchise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 70-year-old actor is currently in talks to star in the upcoming franchise reboot for Paramount Pictures.

Lonely Island member Akiva Schaffer ("Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers") is currently attached to direct the reboot of the classic, slapstick crime comedy spoof. Writers Dan Gregor and Doug Mand, who previously collaborated with Schaffer on "Rescue Rangers" are penning the current draft of the script. Scribes Mark Hentemann and Alec Sulkin co-wrote an earlier draft.

The franchise originated as a short-lived television series on ABC, starring Nielsen, in 1982. It lasted for only one season and six episodes. However, it later transitioned to the big screen in 1988 with "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!" The first film was a hit, grossing $78 million at the domestic box office. It later spawned two sequels, also starring Nielsen, first with 1991's "The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear" and followed by 1994's "The Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult."

"Police Squad" and its big screen followups were created by the comedy filmmaking trio of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, and Jerry Zucker), who worked on some classic slapstick comedies throughout the '70s, '80s, and '90s, including "The Kentucky Fried Movie," "Airplane!," and "Hot Shots!"

Plot details regarding the reboot are reportedly being kept under wraps for now. Seth MacFarlane ("Family Guy," "American Dad," "The Orville") and Erica Huggins are producing the film under the Fuzzy Door banner. Schaffer will also executive produce the project.

Neeson previously worked with MacFarlane in the western-themed comedy spoof, "A Million Ways to Die in the West," released in 2014.

Nielsen starred in "Police Squad" and "The Naked Gun" as Detective Frank Drebin, a police officer who frequently finds himself in various mishaps for his cases. The franchise is known for its classic theme music and outrageous opening credit sequence of a police car with its blaring siren barrelling through various locations as bystanders run for cover.

Nielsen was 62 years old when the original "Naked Gun" film was released in 1988. That would make Neeson, at 70, at least eight years older than Nielsen when the first big-screen edition of the series was released.

Interestingly enough, Nielsen started his career as the leading man in the 1956 science fiction classic, "Forbidden Planet." However, his acting career never really took off as a dramatic leading man. It wasn't until his role as Dr. Rumack in the hit film "Airplane!" in 1980 that he truly found his stride as a comedic lead, and he gained a second wind on his career, starring in many spoofs and comedy features, usually helmed by Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker.

Ironically, Oscar-nominated actor Liam Neeson became well known for his more serious and dramatic work earlier in his career. It wasn't until much later that he started branching out and trying out more comedic roles, such as MacFarlane's "A Million Ways to Die in the West" and famously Good Cop/Bad Cop in "The LEGO Movie."

Paramount has not yet officially announced Neeson's casting for the project. "The Naked Gun" reboot does not yet have an official release date.

Neeson recently returned to his iconic "Star Wars" role of "Qui-Gon Jinn" in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries streaming now on Disney+. He will voice the character once again in the "Tales of the Jedi" animated anthology shorts series. It debuts on Disney+ on October 26.