'Austin Powers 4' Still In The Works, Threatens Mike Myers

Oh, behave!

There's been talk of an Austin Powers 4 ever since the third movie pulled in nearly $300 million worldwide over a decade ago, but in a new interview, writer/star Mike Myers says that the sequel is "looking good." Read his latest threats...I mean, "comments," below.

Access Online caught up with Myers on the red carpet of Bohemian Rhapsody, the Queen biopic in which Myers plays a supporting role, and asked him for an update on the much-talked-about Austin Powers 4:

"You're going to see Dr. Evil soon, somewhere in the culture. But the movie...they take a long time to write. They always have. [Director] Jay [Roach]'s been super crazy...but we – it's looking good, so we'll see."

Phrases like "Do I make you horny, baby?" will land way differently with audiences today than they did in the late '90s. Our societal norms have changed so drastically since those movies were in theaters that the Powers character might be considered more outdated than ever. The Austin Powers movies were always cheesy spoofs of the James Bond films, but our culture has also shifted to a point where I'm not convinced modern audiences will be able to grasp the distinction of Powers poking fun at the inherent sexism of Bond; though they'll likely have plenty of other things to complain about here, I'm guessing many people will miss that particular point in the inevitable rush to take this movie down a peg.

Earlier this year, Myers talked about wanting to make another Austin Powers sequel from the perspective of Dr. Evil, the Blofeld-esque buffoon and long-time nemesis of Austin Powers. But the enemies were revealed to be brothers at the end of 2002's Austin Powers in Goldmember (a twist that, ironically, the Bond franchise would co-opt years later in Spectre) so I'm not sure how much more mileage there is in examining that relationship. Goldmember ends with Dr. Evil's son Scott (Seth Green) essentially taking over the Dr. Evil mantle and swearing "I'm going to get you, Austin Powers!", so I suppose there could be more to discover either with Austin facing off against Scott or between Scott and Dr. Evil.

Right now this is just Myers talking, and I'm curious what New Line Cinema thinks about the idea of an Austin Powers 4. The premise of a hyper-sexualized man running around hitting on women would certainly make things more difficult for the studio, but each movie in this franchise made more money than its predecessor, so they could be willing to sprint through a cultural minefield if they see enough dollar signs on the other side.