Launching a successful Hollywood franchise is incredibly difficult to make happen, and the studios that successfully pull this off wind up generating something that will continue to haul in millions for the foreseeable future. Many have tried, but the truth is that few franchises can actually get off the ground successfully. Current franchise heavyweights like the MCU, DC, and Star Wars have all been massively successful and have dominated a lot of their competition.
Starting in the 90s, the Austin Power franchise was the right thing at the right time, and thanks to the brilliant writings and comedic acting of Mike Myers, the first film wound up spawning a beloved franchise. There are three films in total, and fans have been asking for a fourth installment for years.
Let’s check on the status of a potential Austin Powers 4!
The Trilogy Was A Huge Success
The fact that fans have been calling for a fourth installment of the Austin Powers franchise says a lot about the strength of the first three films. Each of those films would go on to be a success at the box office, and while the humor is similar in all three of them, people still kept coming back for more.
According to The-Numbers, the first Austin Powers film, International Man of Mystery, was able to make $67 million at the box office when it was released. While this may not seem like a ton of money, there was a lot of buzz about the film in pop culture, and having a small budget meant that it was able to net a decent enough profit to warrant a sequel.
Its successor, The Spy Who Shagged Me, wound up doing exponentially bigger business at the global box office. Released back in 1999, The Spy Who Shagged Me was able to make $312 million at the global box office, earning nearly 5 times as much as its predecessor. Because of this, the studio quickly jumped on the chance to make a third installment.
In 2002, the third and so far final Austin Powers film, Goldmember, hit theaters. Much like The Spy Who Shagged Me, it went on to be a financial success at the box office. Goldmember was able to pull down $296 million at the box office, and many people really enjoyed the chemistry that Mike Myers and Beyoncé had on screen together.
Much like the James Bond films that it was inspired by, people were hoping to see more installments down the line.
Rumored For Years
At this point, it has been nearly 18 years since the release of Goldmember, and fans have remained vocal about their support for a fourth installment of the franchise. Mike Myers has going on to do many other successful projects like Shrek, but despite this, fans want more of their favorite Man of Mystery.
Interestingly, there is an IMDb page for an Austin Powers 4, but the page shows that it has not been updated since 2017. This does go to show that there has been some talks of doing a fourth film, but through the years, things have stalled and have fallen through at different points.
Director Jay Roach, when speaking with The Independent, would talk about the potential for a fourth film.
He would say, “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. He and I always thought there was more to do with Dr. Evil.”
Where Things Are Now
Mike Myers has tapped into his Austin Powers roots in recent years, having reprised the role of Dr. Evil on The Tonight Show. Naturally, people began wondering if it was finally time for the franchise to get back underway.
At this time, there is still nothing concrete about another Austin Powers project. The loss of Verne Troyer, who played Mini-Me, certainly makes moving forward incredibly difficult. Mini-Me is one of the most popular characters from the franchise, and recasting him would be a criticized move.
In his interview with The Independent, Roach would say, “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.”
It is unknown if we will ever see a film, but clearly, there is interest from the fans and the crew alike.
