'Austin Powers' Star Mike Myers Gives Fans More Hope For A Potential Fourth Film
By Jonathan Brown on November 18, 2024 at 1:00 PM EST
Yeah, baby - Mike Myers is giving us more hope for a potential fourth Austin Powers movie!
The SNL alum and comedy legend, 61, attended New York Magazine’s Vulture Festival over the weekend, where he was asked about the possibility of bringing the sex-positive International Man of Mystery back to screens in the future.
While he didn’t say much, what he did say could be taken as another hint of him eventually reviving the popular character.
Mike Myers Alludes To The ‘Austin Powers’ Franchise Making A Comeback In The Near Future
When asked by TooFab if audiences could expect another Austin Powers movie in the not-too-distant future, Myers played things close to the chest, but still said more than enough.
“It’s, uh, I would be surprised if it didn’t,” he said with a slight smile.
Myer’s comments may not be the most assuring, but it is still the most secure confirmation we’ve gotten of a potential fourth entry in the Austin Powers franchise in some time. To our credit, it is not the first time the actor has given us crumbs to follow in hopes of seeing Austin on our screens again.
What Mike Myers Has Said Over The Years Regarding A Fourth ‘Austin Powers’ Movie
Since the franchise’s last entry, 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember (a.k.a. the one with Beyoncé), Myers has given multiple positive responses about seeing the spy and his nemesis, Dr. Evil, back in action again for a fourth go-round.
In 2005, Myers told Entertainment Weekly, as reported by Daily Mail, that he was genuinely hopeful for a fourth movie.
“There is hope,” he admitted. “We're all circling and talking to each other. I miss doing the characters.”
Two years later in 2007, he told IGN that there were “ideas” for what a fourth Austin Powers film could look like.
“There is a fully conceived idea for a fourth [movie],” the actor shared, “and I can just say that it's from Dr. Evil's point of view. So, if you balanced how much of [the franchise] was Austin with Dr. Evil, it's more about Dr. Evil than Austin.”
Myers reiterated the concept that same year at the premiere of Shrek the Third. He would then seemingly go silent on all things Austin Powers until 2016, when, as reported by Complex, he claimed during a phone interview that the details were “being negotiated.”
On the heels of the 20th anniversary of the franchise in 2017, Mike relayed to The Independent that he would “love” to do a fourth movie.
“You just have to [wait and] see,” he shared.
What The Director Of The 'Austin Powers' Franchise Has Said About Mike Myers Returning To The Role
Other than Myers’ recurrent comments of bringing Austin Powers back to life, filmmaker Jay Roach, who directed all three movies in the block – 1997’s Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and the aforementioned Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002 – has previously shared his hopes for reviving the franchise.
“We have talked about [making a fourth movie] for 15 years,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter during an oral history about the franchise.
“We have also always said we don't want to do it unless we came up with something that lived up to the concepts in our mind," Roach expressed. "Until Mike feels like he has a concept that earns a fourth, it won't happen. But if it did, we have all agreed that we would be delighted to get back into it."
Despite Becoming A Monumental Success, The First ‘Austin Powers’ Movie Was Nearly The Last
Though it eventually grew to become a half-billion-dollar franchise, the first Austin Powers film nearly brought the film series to a swift close.
In The Hollywood Reporter retrospective of Austin Powers, it is noted that the first film fared extremely poorly with test audiences. Even worse, its premiere at the Chinese Theater was such a snooze fest, no one even bothered to take co-star Seth Green’s (Scott Evil) picture!
Worst of all was its overall box-office return: Though it fared well with American audiences, bringing in around $53.9 million overall, it only made close to $14 million in the overseas market.
Luckily, as with many films of the past, the release of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery on home video and DVD (with the latter media device just making its way to living rooms around the world in 1999) helped to build an audience and push its popularity to new heights.
As Proud As Mike Myers Remains Of Austin Powers, He Wishes Fans Would Rally Around Another One Of His Roles
Though he appears to appreciate what the Austin Powers franchise has meant to its fans, there is one role outside of it that Myers hopes fan would give more attention to.
Speaking to TooFab at the Vulture Festival on Saturday, Mike brought up his work in the 2002 Netflix series The Pentaverate, which he both co-created and starred in.
“I did a series on Netflix during the pandemic,” he mentioned, specifically noting the show’s English theme and his English heritage. “I [played] a character called Lord Lordington, who's the head of the Pentaverate, this secret organization. I think it's my favorite character.”
