Mike Myers says he would love to do Austin Powers 4. SNL alum Myers originated the character of James Bond-spoofing secret agent Powers in 1997.
International Man of Mystery as that first Austin Powers movie was subtitled went on to gross a relatively modest $67.7 million at the box office on a reported budget of $16.5 million. But when Powers returned for the 1999 sequel The Spy Who Shagged Me the box office ballooned into blockbuster territory as the movie took $312 million on a budget of $33 million. 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember kept the money train rolling by grossing $296 million on a budget of $63 million.
But now it’s been twenty years since the last Austin Powers movie and there has been little-or-no sign of a fourth film being a legitimate possibility. Myers himself still holds out hope however as he revealed in an interview on the Today Show (via NBC Bay Area). When asked about doing Austin Powers 4 Myers said, “I would love to do one. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He then added in typical joking fashion, “We’ll see. I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a program, should it exist or not exist.”
Momentum for getting the Austin Powers band back together again may in fact receive a little push this weekend as Myers is set to appear as Dr. Evil in a General Motors Super Bowl commercial alongside his old cast-mates Rob Lowe, Seth Green and Mindy Sterling. And if Austin Powers 4 ever becomes a real possibility, Myers indeed already has an idea for a story. As the actor revealed in a 2018 interview, he wants to put a new spin on things by doing an Austin Powers adventure from the point-of-view of his villainous Dr. Evil character.
The original Austin Powers movies of course made their comedic hay by mocking the 1960s James Bond movies and their various outdated secret agent tropes. Doing Austin Powers now might require a little rethinking of the formula however, as the idea of mocking the ‘60s now seems as quaint as the ‘60s themselves were in 1997. One solution might be to shift targets slightly and take on modern-day secret agent movies like the Daniel Craig Bonds, the Bourne films and Mission: Impossible. Of course such a shift would mean a major change in the Austin Powers character, as he was quite literally a relic of the ‘60s. No doubt someone in Hollywood has a great idea for an Austin Powers 4, and if Myers gets his way that idea will one day see the light of day. Whether there’s any real appetite among audiences for another Austin Powers movie is of course another question. Chuckling at a Super Bowl ad is one thing, but watching an entire movie built largely on nostalgia for an arguably worn-out comedic character is quite another.
