They’re Rebooting ‘The Naked Gun’ With Ed Helms, and Maybe It Won’t Suck

Actor Ed Helms has signed on to star in a reboot of The Naked Gun, according to Variety. Paramount Pictures, which is anxious to revitalize the beloved comedy franchise, hopes that Helms will be able to fill the shoes of funnyman Leslie Nielsen, who played Detective Frank Drebin in the original films as well as its television precursor Police Squad. Thomas Lennon and Robert Ben Garant, the men behind Reno 911, are set to write the script. There's no word yet on whether franchise creators Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, or Jerry Zucker will be involved.



Reboots are a tricky thing. Characters such as Batman or Superman have been around for decades, and have already had multiple incarnations within the comic world. So when a studio reboots a comic book film franchise, it's not that jarring. When it comes to horror and science fiction, the results are mixed, but successful reboots are possible. But as for comedy, reboots are almost nonexistent. Other than The Pink Panther reboot, which most people wish was nonexistent, there's not much out there, so it's hard to predict how a Naked Gun reboot will fare. My initial reaction is to scream, "leave it alone," but given the talent already in place, maybe they'll surprise us.



"Surely I must be joking?"



Don't call me Shirley. Yeah, wrong movie. Deal with it.