If Seth MacFarlane gets his way, Liam Neeson might be Leslie Nielsen’s unlikely successor.
According to Neeson himself, Seth MacFarlane approached the 70-year-old actor about starring in a reboot of the Naked Gun franchise.
“I’ve been approached by Seth McFarlane and Paramount Studios to maybe resurrect the Naked Gun films,” Neeson told People recently. “It’ll either finish my career or bring it in another direction. I honestly don’t know.”
The Naked Gun franchise kicked off in 1988 with the first film that spoofed cop flicks, and turned its star, Leslie Nielsen, into a household name. It also launched the acting career of one O.J. Simpson. Neeson, who is best known for his roles in prestige dramas and white knuckle actioners seems like an unlikely choice for a slapstick comedy. But here we are.
Neeson added that one of the main things keeping him from pursuing more action roles his age, saying that while he can still pull them off, eventually he’ll need to slow down.
“I think the action movies will draw to a close, they have to,” he said. “Audiences aren’t stupid, you know. They’re gonna go, ‘Oh, fuck, this guy, Liam Neeson. He’s got to be 71, 72, 73…’ I’ll stop at some stage.”
As for more details on the possible MacFarlane-led Naked Gun reboot, well, there are none, so we’ll just gave to stay tuned. The actor is currently set to star in his next action movie, Blacklight, hitting theaters on Feb. 11.
