Liam Neeson fights to save Police Squad in ‘The Naked Gun’ trailer

Police Squad is in danger, and there’s only one man for the job — unfortunately, because he’s not very good at it.

The first trailer for The Naked Gun reboot features Liam Neeson bumbling himself into all manner of compromising positions. His Frank Drebin Jr., son of the similarly lovable-yet-incompetent cop portrayed by Leslie Nielsen in the 1988 classic from David Zucker, is tasked by commander CCH Pounder with the ultimate task: “They’re going to shut down Police Squad if you don’t solve this case.”

But as often as Drebin Jr. is seen fighting crime, he’s seen in mock bodycam-style footage discharging his weapon to cut a cafe bathroom line, asking a perp why they “served 20 years for ‘man’s laughter,'” and driving off in a car updated with “the most advanced technology” with the charging cord still attached, causing a massive explosion.

The case in question? Pamela Anderson, filling the same damsel-in-distress/potential-femme-fatale role played by Priscilla Presley in the original, delivers the details.

“Over here, lieutenant. I think someone murdered my brother,” she tells Neeson in a sultry tone that conveys intelligence and commands respect. But she may deserve as little as Drebin Jr., who asks her to take a seat in his office, prompting her to literally take the chair in her hand and walk out.

There are direct nods to Nielsen version, and Neilsen himself. Drebin Jr. says, “Hi, Daddy, It’s me” to a portrait of Nielsen’s character at Police Squad HQ in a shot that pulls back to a whole line of officers paying similar respects to their cop-fathers. Paul Walter Hauser, who plays Drebin Jr.’s right-hand-man at the Police Squad, is revealed as the son of George Kennedy’s Captain Ed Hocken, and Moses Jones, the only dry-eyed, even dubious-looking officer in the lineup, is revealed as the son of O.J. Simpson’s Detective Nordberg.

If Neeson, Hauser, Jones, Pounder, and even Anderson don’t get their acts together, Police Squad is under threat of going the way all fallow enterprises seem to go these days: turning into a Spirit Halloween.

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“Only one man has the particular set of skills… to lead Police Squad and save the world!” reads The Naked Gun official logline.

The reboot has been in the works since 2013, with The Office star Ed Helms initially attached to star. Comedy super-producer Seth MacFarlane came on board to produce in 2021, and The Lonely Island star Akiva Schaffer was eventually brought in as director. The film was written by Schaffer, Dan Gregor (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Doolittle), and Doug Mand (How I Met Your Mother).

The cast also includes Danny Huston (Birth, Horizon, Succession), Kevin Durand (Clown in a Cornfield, Abigail), Eddie Yu (The Pitt, Bosch: Legacy), WWE wrestler Cody Rhodes, and social media star Liza Koshy.

In May, Anderson, who’s currently riding the wave of a long-anticipated and well-deserved comeback, ushered in by her acclaimed performance in 2024’s The Last Showgirl, told Entertainment Weekly last month that her process preparing for a comedy like The Naked Gun is similar to that of The Last Showgirl.

“I worked hard on the role, another cathartic experience,” the Golden Globe nominee said. “Every film, it seems, tackles a deep-seated issue that needs to be expressed and surfaced in ways other than anything else.”

Anderson also spoke glowingly of Neeson, whom she calls “mysterious,” “inspiring,” and a “true gentleman.” She called their chemistry “electric in a way,” and said the Northern Irish actor is “a legend and deserving of the title.”

The Naked Gun hits theaters on Aug. 1, 2025.