Austin Powers Director Teases Possible Fourth Movie With Mike Myers

It's been nearly 18 years since the third film in the Austin Powers franchise, Austin Powers in Goldmember, hit theaters but a fourth installment of the Mike Myers-starring spy action comedy series may not be out of the question -- at least when it comes to director Jay Roach. Roach, who directed all three of the previous Austin Powers films, recently revealed to Deadline that he's open to a fourth film, noting that he would never say never.

In the conversation, Roach was asked about the possibility of a fourth film being released and Roach admitted that he was open to a fourth film. However, whether there will be one is largely up to Myers, who not only starred in the first three but also wrote them as well.

"I wouldn't say never never...I'm always game for whatever [Mike Myers] wants to do," Roach said. "It does depend on Mike having something that he's inspired about, and so far, after all these years, it hasn't quite clicked yet."

The idea of a fourth Austin Powers film is one that has been floating around for some time, with initial reports of a fourth film first surfacing since around 2005, roughly three years after Austin Powers in Goldmember. Over the years, Myers has offered various updates about a fourth film, with most of them being very positive. A May 2018 update saw Myers hint that a fourth film would feature some sort of tribute to Mini Me actor Verne Troyer who died in April of that year.

The most recent major update from Myers about an Austin Powers 4 came in November 2018 where he told Access that a fourth film was "looking good" despite both himself and Roach being busy.

"I've had three kids under the age of seven," Myers said at the time. "They take a long time to write, they always have. Jay's been super crazy. He is doing a fantastic movie right now that he's working on right now. It's looking good, so we'll see."

Last July, however, Roach cast some doubt on the possibility of a fourth due to the complexity of crafting a story without Troyer.

"We've been trying to think up an idea that could earn a fourth film for a long time, but it's always up to Mike," Roach told The Independent. "He and I always thought there was more to do with Dr. Evil. To be honest, I don't know how we'd do it without Verne. We always had ideas of revealing a whole life that he had that would have taken his character much further. If Mike cracks it and figures it out, we would definitely do some kind of tribute to him. I'm there if he ever wants to do it."

The first film, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, was released in May of 1997. It was followed by Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in June of 1999, with Austin Powers in Goldmember rounding out the trilogy in July of 2002. The films garnered $53 million, $206 million, and $213 million at the worldwide box office, respectively.