Liam Neeson was sure to get everyone talking this week as he transformed into a lollipop-wielding schoolgirl in the first trailer for the Naked Gun reboot.
The Taken actor, 72, was dressed a schoolgirl in the clip, clad in a tartan skirt and cardigan, with the star flashing a pair of strawberry print knickers while attacking bank robbers with a shank fashioned out of a lollipop.
The trailer for The Naked Gun 444¼: Law of Toughness began with a bank robbery that turns into a hostage crisis, with armed cops staging a desperate standoff outside the building.
In the midst of all the chaos, a little girl with a lollipop wandered insouciantly past the police perimeter and right into the bank.
When one of the robbers demands to know what she wants, she ripped off her mask and revealed herself to be none other than Liam’s character Frank Jr. in disguise.
‘Your a**,’ growled Frank Jr., drawing himself up to his full height and using the sharp end of the lollipop stick to slash the criminal to death.
Liam Neeson as you’ve NEVER seen him before! Star, 72, flashed his pants while dressed as a lollipop shank-wielding schoolgirl in a trailer for the Naked Gun reboot – which also featured a wild OJ Simpson reference
The Taken actor, 72, was dressed a schoolgirl in the clip, clad in a tartan skirt and cardigan, with the star flashing a pair of strawberry print knickers while attacking bank robbers with a shank fashioned out of a lollipop
The trailer for The Naked Gun 444¼: Law of Toughness began with a little girl heading into a bank robbery, with the youngster then removing their mask to reveal it was in fact Liam’s character, Frank Jr. in disguise
In a shot that instantly went viral, Liam – who is 6’4″ – stood up proudly in his schoolgirl outfit, which was so small that his underwear was distinctly visible.
Yet fans weren’t only left in hysterics at Liam’s appearance but also in shock at a a wild OJ Simpson reference.
OJ had a major role in the original three films, the last of which came out in March 1994 – just three months before the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman, of which the NFL star was controversially acquitted after a trial that was followed feverishly around the world.
The last scene of the trailer showed a row of cops getting down on their knees to pay tribute to a memorial wall of photos of their late fathers, who were also on the force.
While most of the dead men’s pictures drew emotional reactions from their sons, the photo of OJ’s character Detective Nordberg elicits a somewhat different response.
Nordberg’s son looked up at the photo of his late father, then aimed a knowing glance at the camera while shaking his head in disappointment.
The previous instalment in the Naked Gun franchise was the final feature film that OJ appeared in before he died of prostate cancer last year, aged 76.
The Naked Gun franchise is based on the 1980s TV crime comedy Police Squad!, in which Leslie Nielsen first played the role of Frank Drebin Sr.
‘Your a**,’ growled Frank Jr., drawing himself up to his full height and using the sharp end of the lollipop stick to slash the criminal to death
Maybe the most memorable part of the sneak peek is the last scene, showing a row of cops getting down on their knees to pay tribute to a memorial wall of photos of their late fathers
While most of the dead men’s pictures drew emotional reactions from their sons, the photo of OJ Simpson’s character Detective Nordberg elicits a somewhat different response
Nordberg’s son looked up at the photo of his late father, then aimed a knowing glance at the camera while shaking his head in disappointment
In 1988, the first film in the series came out – The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, starring Leslie and OJ amid a cast that included Priscilla Presley.
A sequel called The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell Of Fear bowed in 1991, and the third, Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult, was released in 1994.
Now the comedy franchise is being revived with Liam, who plays the son of the first three movies’ lead character, police lieutenant Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen).
With Leslie and OJ both dead, the franchise has a new cast for the new film The Naked Gun 4+1⁄4: Law Of Toughness, which is set for release on August 1.
The original director of the 1980s police comedy Naked Gun has since revealed he will not watch the upcoming remake.
David Zucker, 77 — who is also known for helming movies such as Airplane! (1980) as well as films in the Scary Movie franchise — shared his candid thoughts on the new trailer.
‘I never saw Airplane 2 because you can’t unsee that stuff,’ the filmmaker told TMZ. ‘I’m not planning on seeing the Naked Gun remake either.
‘I regret having seen the trailer for it. It’s like watching 2 Girls 1 Cup. I can’t unsee it,’ David continued, referencing to a 2007 Brazilian pornographic film.
OJ and Leslie Nielsen are pictured in The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell Of Fear, which came out in 1991
David’s reaction to the remake comes nearly one year after he also informed the outlet that Paramount never reached out to him and he had no involvement in the reboot.
The original Naked Gun movie — which was based on the series Police Squad! — was also co-written by himself as well as Jim Abrahams, Pat Proft and his brother Jerry Zucker.
‘Paramount is just going ahead and doing it, they haven’t involved me,’ David told TMZ last year in April while discussing the reboot.
‘So, I don’t have any thoughts on it. They’re just gonna do what they want, that’s Hollywood.’
David and other co-creators — which also included Michael McManus — had previously pitched a script to the production company for a fourth installment in the franchise. But Paramount ended up not pursuing it.
‘We were not excited about having the franchise given to other people,’ the director further expressed.
‘At the time, I couldn’t believe it because we thought we had a great script, and they loved the script from what we heard.’
David added, ‘I don’t have any control over it, I’m not involved. They haven’t asked me for my help. It’s completely their concept, and they’re just gonna go ahead and do it.’
‘They have not contacted me to make a cameo or be involved in the writing. Whether or not they’re going to do a good job with it — this kind of spoof, I mean it’s not rocket science, but it’s not easy.
David explained, ‘And I always say, “Kids, don’t try this at home.” We kinda developed this way of doing spoof over years and years. We kinda know the roles. But that’s not to say that somebody else can’t do it in their style.’
He also pointed out that ‘younger generations’ are coming across films such as The Naked Gun and Airplane!
However, he added. ‘I don’t know whether or not a remake of Naked Gun will especially move the needle one way or the other, as far as people watching Naked Gun again.’
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