The Uncomfortable Legacy: How The Naked Gun Reboot Handles The O.J. Simpson 'Elephant In The Room'

The legacy of Orenthal James Simpson, who passed away in April 2024, is one of the most complex and uncomfortable chapters in American pop culture history. While his life was defined by triumphs on the football field and a high-profile criminal trial, many fans of classic comedy will forever associate him with the hapless, injury-prone Detective Nordberg in The Naked Gun film series. This association has always been a source of dark humor and profound awkwardness, a challenge the creators of the upcoming Naked Gun reboot are now forced to navigate.

The decision to cast Simpson in the original 1988 film, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, was a stroke of genius satire by director David Zucker, trading on Simpson's wholesome, all-American image as "The Juice." Today, in late 2025, the conversation has shifted dramatically, with a new generation of filmmakers deciding how to reference the character without disrespecting the victims or tarnishing the film’s comedic heritage. The answer, it turns out, is a single, carefully crafted joke.

Orenthal James Simpson: Complete Biography and Profile

Orenthal James Simpson, known universally as O.J. or "The Juice," was a figure whose life spanned the heights of athletic glory, a successful acting career, and an infamous legal saga that captivated the world. His profile remains one of the most polarizing in modern American history.

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• Full Name: Orenthal James Simpson
• Nickname: The Juice
• Born: July 9, 1947, San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Died: April 10, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada (Age 76)
• Cause of Death: Prostate Cancer
• College: University of Southern California (USC)
• NFL Draft: 1st Overall Pick in the 1969 NFL/AFL Common Draft (Buffalo Bills)
• NFL Teams: Buffalo Bills (1969–1977), San Francisco 49ers (1978–1979)
• Key Athletic Awards & Honors:
  • Heisman Trophy Winner (1968)
  • NFL Player of the Year (1972, 1973, 1975)
  • NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) (1973)
  • Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee (1985)
  • First NFL player to rush for over 2,000 yards in a 14-game season (1973)
• Notable Filmography: The Naked Gun trilogy (1988–1994), The Towering Inferno (1974), The Klansman (1974), Capricorn One (1978).
• Legal Status: Acquitted of the 1994 murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman; later found liable in a 1997 civil suit. Convicted in 2008 for armed robbery and kidnapping in Las Vegas, serving nine years in prison before being released on parole in 2017.

The Ironic Brilliance of Casting O.J. Simpson as Detective Nordberg

The role of Detective Nordberg, the partner of Leslie Nielsen's bumbling Frank Drebin, was a minor but memorable part of The Naked Gun films. Nordberg’s character arc—or lack thereof—was simple: he would be brutally, comically injured in the opening scene, often in a drug deal gone wrong, and would spend the rest of the movie in a hospital bed, serving as a sight gag for slapstick comedy.

From Football Icon to Slapstick Punching Bag

The character of Nordberg was originally played by Peter Lupus in the short-lived 1982 television series, Police Squad!. When the series was adapted for the big screen, the ZAZ (Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker) creative team, known for their absurdist and satirical humor, made a brilliant casting choice.

Hiring O.J. Simpson, one of the most famous, charismatic, and respected sports figures in America, to play a character who was constantly beaten, run over, and abused, was a masterstroke of cinematic irony. The humor came from seeing a cultural icon in such a degrading, yet hilarious, light. The scenes involving Nordberg, particularly the opening sequence in the first film where he is repeatedly shot, stabbed, and falls off a boat, are some of the most iconic pieces of physical comedy in the trilogy.

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Simpson appeared in all three films: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988), The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991), and Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994). The release of the final movie coincided almost exactly with the events that would forever change his public image, adding an unintentional layer of dark humor to his final comedic role.

The Naked Gun Reboot and the Single O.J. Simpson Joke

The announcement of a new Naked Gun film, starring Liam Neeson as Frank Drebin Jr., immediately raised a controversial question for fans and critics alike: What would they do about Nordberg? The character, and by extension, the actor, represents a cultural "elephant in the room" that cannot be ignored in a franchise built on satire and pushing boundaries.

Writers Address the 'Elephant in the Room'

Following O.J. Simpson's death in April 2024, the issue became even more pressing. The writers and director of the upcoming reboot, which is slated for release in 2025, have publicly addressed their approach to the character.

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Director Akiva Schaffer and the writing team acknowledged that every conversation about the reboot began with the question of O.J. Simpson. They decided that the only way to handle the situation respectfully, while still maintaining the franchise's irreverent tone, was to limit the reference to a single, carefully chosen joke.

The joke, which reportedly appears in the film’s trailer, is a brief, non-graphic reference that quickly acknowledges the character's complicated legacy without dwelling on the darker aspects of the actor's life. This deliberate choice aims to strike a balance between the franchise's satirical roots and the sensitivity required when dealing with a figure linked to real-life tragedy.

The Cultural Weight of Nordberg's Absence

The decision to include only one joke signifies a shift in how Hollywood handles controversial figures in legacy projects. In the original films, Nordberg was a constant, albeit injured, presence. His absence, or his fate, in the new film is a commentary on the cultural weight Simpson’s name now carries.

The reboot’s approach suggests that while the original films embraced the absurd contrast of a beloved athlete playing a comedic victim, the modern sequel acknowledges that the real-life events surrounding Simpson have made that specific brand of irony too dark for extended comedic use. By giving the character a brief, conclusive nod, the new Naked Gun attempts to close the Nordberg chapter and allow the new story to proceed without the shadow of the past controversy.

The legacy of O.J. Simpson's role as Detective Nordberg will forever be tied to the bizarre intersection of sports, celebrity, and true crime. His presence in the original Naked Gun trilogy remains a potent example of satire that, through unforeseen real-life events, became far more complex than its creators could have ever imagined.