Can he be Frank?

David Zucker, the director and co-writer of the 1988 spoof comedy “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!,” has a lot of gripes with the new reboot — from the casting of Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. to its similarities with his beloved original.

But, the filmmaker admitted, he hasn’t even watched the update, which hits theaters this weekend.

“I don’t plan on seeing it because, why would I?,” Zucker, 77, told the Daily Mail.

Zucker, his brother Jerry Zucker and Jim Abrahams were comedy powerhouses in the 1980s and ‘90s — a team known as ZAZ — creating “Airplane!,” “The Naked Gun” (as well as the ABC TV show that spawned it, “Police Squad”) and “Top Secret!”

But Paramount chose not to involve him in the latest chapter — the first in 31 years — which is directed and co-written by Akiva Schaffer of “Saturday Night Live” and the Lonely Island.

Seth MacFarlane, the creator and voice star of “Family Guy,” acts as producer.

“I wrote a whole script for ‘Naked Gun 4’ on spec for Paramount,” David said. “I understand the studio’s thinking to go with Seth MacFarlane. He’s a proven commodity and Liam Neeson is a big star, but it’s not a fresh idea.”

The “Naked Gun” relaunch, which also features Pamela Anderson, is very much in the mold of the old trilogy — with modern nods to spy movies such as “Mission: Impossible.” 

The first three films starred Leslie Nielsen as woeful LA cop Frank Drebin. Irish Neeson plays his son, who’s just as reckless and blustering.

However, David doesn’t think the acclaimed Neeson is a logical fit for the franchise he birthed. 

“OJ [Simpson]… he didn’t need to be funny,” he said. “And even Leslie Nielsen doesn’t need to be funny. He just had to be a B-movie actor. That’s what we did… We didn’t pretend to cast Laurence Olivier or even Al Pacino. But Liam Neeson, for example, he’s like Oscar quality. I think he may have won for ‘Schindler’s List.’ So I mean, what’s he making fun of?’ 

MacFarlane reached out to him, but the gesture was too little, too late.

“I had a conversation with Seth and he spent 10 minutes just telling me how he idolized ‘Naked Gun,’ ‘Airplane,’ ‘Top Secret,’” he said.

“How can you be mad at anybody who tells you how great you are? But it’s not enough to be a fan…The guy at my dry cleaners is a big fan, but it doesn’t mean he can do ‘Naked Gun.’”

Critics, so far, are more on board with the reboot.

The Post awarded the comedy four stars, calling it “the funniest movie to hit theaters in a long time.”

The flick currently holds a 90% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, and an 87% rating from audiences.

“I hope people go to see it, as miffed as I am at the whole thing,” David said.

“Seth thought he knew best and it may actually do well, which is crazy in itself.”