It's a busy old time for Paul Walter Hauser – with good reason, since he's been putting in excellent, memorable and award-winning performances in a variety of films and shows. He's now attached to another big title, joining Liam Neeson in the cast of Paramount's new spin on The Naked Gun.

The 1988 original saw David Zucker, brother Jerry, Jim Abrahams and co-writer Pat Proft turn their short-lived comedy series Police Squad! into a movie. It was an instant comedy hit, Leslie Nielsen's iconic central performance cementing his transformation from dramatic actor to comedy legend as Detective Frank Drebin.

Two sequels followed to diminishing returns (though there are still good gags to be enjoyed in both), but we started to hear rumours of a remake in development years ago. That went through a few versions — Ed Helms was attached to star for while — and more recently, Seth MacFarlane has been involved,...