Austin Powers 4’s Fate Officially Confirmed by Mike Myers After He Just Returned As Dr. Evil

With Mike Myers returning as Dr. Evil, the future of Austin Powers 4 has also been revealed. It’s been 24 years since the third and, as it stands, last movie in the spy parody franchise was released, but there has long been talk of another sequel. The series was a commercial success, with Austin Powers: Goldmember pullin in $296.9 million against a budget of $63m, so it’s honestly quite surprising that we haven’t already seen a fourth movie. Myers, however, has been talking about it since 2005, when he told Entertainment Weekly there was “hope” for another installment.

Decades later, that hope now finally looks like turning into reality. While appearing on Trevor Noah‘s World Cup Watch Party, Myers was asked if Austin Powers 4 is happening, to which the actor simply responded, “Yes.” No other details were provided, but that’s at the very least a clear confirmation from the actor.

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This comes just after he had actually reprised his role as Dr. Evil… in a commercial for Verizon. It finds Evil launching his new plan, called Menace Mobile, but his nefarious goals are rejected because, apparently, Verizon is just too good. The advert was directed by Jay Roach, who helmed all three movies, and also features multiple other returning cast members alongside Myers, including Seth Green as Dr. Evil’s son, Scott, Mindy Sterling as Frau Farbissina, and Rob Lowe as Number Two. Check it out below:

When Will Austin Powers 4 Happen & What Will It Look Like?

Myers saying that Austin Powers 4 will happen is a notable departure from previous updates. The actor, and others involved in the movie, have said many times over the years that they’d love to make another one, but have refrained from being concrete with saying it is going to be made. Even though Myers’ comment is brief, it’s actually the strongest update on the potential sequel we’ve had, and so is a very encouraging sign that it really is going to happen.

What’s also encouraging is who was featured in the commercial. Given that this was directed by Roach and featured so many of the key cast members, that bodes well for them being together and figuring out what direction to take the new movie. It also suggests that several other actors would very much be willing to return, which would be necessary if this were to work. Myers is currently set to return to another of his most iconic franchises with Shrek 5, but isn’t currently attached to any other projects, and nor is Roach, so perhaps the timing is about to work out.

After that, the big question is just what Austin Powers 4 would look like. Your milage may vary on whether the original movies have aged well or not, but it almost certainly would have to update some elements with regards to things like its sexualization of female characters (even if it was spoofing the James Bond movies), and perhaps even a character like Fat Bastard as well. Still, that isn’t necessarily a barrier, since it could well find Powers again trying to navigate an even more modern world.

Perhaps a bigger problem is whether the spy parody itself would even work now. Powers effectively killed the Bond franchise as we knew it, nailing all of the tropes with such devastating effect that it ended up being completely reinvented with the Daniel Craig era. The Bond that audiences have watched over the past 20 years is very different to the one being spoofed in Austin Powers, and dealing with that would be a major challenge, if, again, not an insurmountable one with the right idea.

A fourth film would also, sadly, have to reckon with the passing of Verne Troyer, who played Mini-Me. The actor died in 2018, and was an integral part of the second and third movies, and the sequel would need to find a way to honor his role in the franchise.

With Myers’ confirmation and the Verizon commercial, perhaps we will find out more about Austin Powers 4 sooner rather than later.

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