Right now it seems as though the Austin Powers franchise has stalled, or is at the very least better off being a trilogy rather than a continuing saga. There’s no denying that the spoof movies that helped to elevate Mike Myers to his current status were great all on their own and as connected movies, but until the idea of what to do next can be cracked as Josh Kurp of Uproxx has written, there’s not a lot of forward movement that seems possible. The idea of Dr. Evil having more to his character now almost seems like it would work, but one of the biggest snags is that Mini-Me, played by the late Verne Troyer, is no longer a possible character and would be a hard loss to explain. Well, kind of. There are a number of things that could explain why Mini-Me is no longer around, and there are still a couple of enemies out there that could possibly help to make a fourth movie viable.
The question at this time seems to be if Myers even wants to, though some happen to think that he might be on the verge of trying to decide just how to move forward. Troyer’s loss is tragic and unfortunate but if you’ll recall he came in during the second movie and was there for the third as well. Austin Powers became a favored movie with Troyer to start with, so it’s easy enough to think that a story could be written up that might explain his absence in a convincing way. It’d be a blow to the fans for certain since Mini-Me became a popular character in the second movie and was really gaining ground in the third. But then one has to think, who in the world would be starring this next movie? Mike Myers is obvious, but would Foxy Cleopatra, Beyonce, come back, or would Felicity Shagwell, Heather Graham, make another appearance? Or would we get another agent that might step in and be Austin’s love interest? Plus, Seth Green could be a recurring villain, and Goldmember might even be able to make another appearance if Myers was willing. But given that Dr. Evil and his henchmen, including Fat Bastard, and women were the only recurring villains. If a fourth movie came out would the role of Goldmember even be a consideration?
Added onto this is the fact that Myers, for all that it seems like he’d want to do it, has waited for a good long while at this point since it’s been 17 years since the last Austin Powers movie came out. That makes it seem as though the British super sleuth might need to do some serious aging on screen to make sure that the passage of time has been noted and the fans get what they’re after, a movie that sticks to some form of continuity despite being a spoof and something that can seemingly make things up on the go. After all, the femme-bot that showed up in the beginning of the second movie was something of a shock, especially when it was revealed that everyone but Austin knew the truth. Ever notice how it never explained how Vanessa was the daughter of Austin’s old partner but the matter was dropped after the femme-bot exploded, and there was no mention of her mother after that? Yeah, a lot of people didn’t because the movie kept going and we were introduced to another plot line before we could really start to obsess on it. This is definitely one of Myers’ skills, to make us move forward without the idea that we really need to investigate a little more. But hey, it works since Austin Powers was never really a movie that was designed to make you think that hard.
In making a fourth movie though it would have to be pretty much the same if the desire was for people to watch, laugh, and enjoy without having to really use their brains all that much in order to figure out why things just don’t seem to add up. In truth Austin is an adequate spy but he seems to rely heavily on those around him to get the job done since he’s the kind of guy that wants to look good and not do too much of the work. But it’s a spoof movie, so it’s allowed because it makes us laugh and it gives us a great deal of enjoyment. If a fourth movie ever comes out it might suffer a little for the lack of having Troyer on the cast, but at the same time it would seem as though this can be planned around and given it’s own story line so that we’re not made to wonder why Mini-Me was allowed to just disappear.
