Actor Mike Myers joked during an interview Wednesday that he could neither confirm nor deny the "existence or nonexistence" of political commentary in a possible fourth "Austin Powers" film.
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he → joke → film
An interviewer from Variety asked Myers whether a fourth "Austin Powers" film would "reflect" the current political landscape.
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film → ask → landscape
"I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of such a commentary," Myers said.
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Myers → confirm → commentary
"I mean the world has happened.
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world → mean → ?
I'm really enjoying it."
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I → enjoy → it
Myers also suggested that movies need a lighter tone.
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movies → suggest → tone
His remarks about a cultural shift toward love and away from fear came shortly after Democrats scored victories in the midterm elections.
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Democrats → come → elections
We need much more silly," Myers said while attending the premiere of "Focker-In-Law," the latest film in the "Meet the Parents" franchise.
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Myers → need → franchise
"But I have to say, in the last few weeks, I think fear has had it and love is on the way back," he added.
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he → have → way
"The wave of happiness, the blue wave?" the interviewer asked.
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interviewer → ask → happiness
"No, well, it’s not — regardless of left or right, though I am a lefty, I’m Canadian, I’m a progressive voter, always have been," Myers said.
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Myers → ’ → left
"I just think we’re sick of fear, and we want more love, and if anything, that’s what the ‘Austin Powers’ movie is gonna be about."
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movie → think → what
"What the world needs now is love, sweet love, in the words of Burt Bacharach, a great American poet," Myers said, referring to the musician whose music has appeared in the "Austin Powers" films and who made cameo appearances in the franchise.
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who → need → franchise
"That’s why I really wanted to do this movie at this time, because I want us to — we need some silly.
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we → ’ → silly
We need some silly, we need some happy, we need some love."
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we → need → love
The "Austin Powers" franchise is a comedy film series that parodies classic James Bond movies and the spy genre.
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that → parody → movies
Myers has become more outspoken about politics in recent years, parodying Tesla CEO Elon Musk on "Saturday Night Live" and criticizing President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring Canada under U.S. control.
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Myers → become → control
He told The New York Times in 2025, while Musk was involved with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), "Fascism doesn’t like to be ridiculed; it likes to be feared," and that, "Satire is an important tool in the toolbox to say that this is not normal — that the cuts he’s making are not normal."
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he → tell → toolbox
Fox News Digital spoke with film critic Christian Toto, host of the "Hollywood in Toto" podcast, about Myers' remarks on the possible sequel.
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Digital → speak → sequel
Toto praised the earlier films as fun comedies but questioned whether fans would welcome political commentary.
"I don't think the last three films were political at all," he said.
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he → praise → commentary
"I can't imagine any fan would say, ‘Gosh I want Austin Powers back, but only if he does a No Kings rally.'
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he → imagine → rally
I don't see that happening at all, don't see anyone really craving that.
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anyone → see → that
So, I think Mike Myers would be foolish to go in that direction, and I don't think he will."
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he → think → direction
"So when a journalist started to press Mike Myers of ‘Saturday Night Live’ fame about a possible fourth ‘Austin Powers?’
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journalist → start → Powers
Well, he took the bait and didn't quite take the bait at the same time," Toto continued.
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Toto → take → time
"They asked him if the new film might be more political, a fourth possible ‘Austin Powers.’
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film → ask → him
He said, well, he's working on it, but didn't quite see it that way."
"He's kind of left it a bit open, saying anything goes, but more really pressed into the whole, 'I just want to make people laugh,' 'We need a little more love and fun these days.'
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We → say → love
I think that was his main goal and, given the last three films, which were completely apolitical, I think that's what we can expect.
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we → think → what
I just hope the new one's funny if it ever happens," Toto added.
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Toto → hope → ?
"Hollywood always wants to get political, and the industry often does.
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industry → want → ?
With late night, it's easy, see a headline make a riff on it later that night," Toto said.
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Toto → see → it
He noted, however, that movies take much longer to produce, meaning political events that once dominated headlines may no longer be relevant by the time a film is released.
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film → note → time
"So I think if Mike Myers even wanted to get political with ‘Austin Powers,’ he's gotta think that through, that it hasn't begun yet.
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it → think → that
I don't even know if the script is ready.
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script → know → ?
So I think if you wanted to poke fun at ICE or Trump or anything going on now, boy that would look really stale and make the film really dusty, and it's already an older property, not a good sign," Toto warned.
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Toto → think → ICE
Some of Myers' recent projects have received mixed reviews, including his 2022 miniseries, "The Pentaverate," which parodied conspiracy theories about secret societies.
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which → receive → societies
Some critics found its political humor dated, with one reviewer expressing concern that a fourth "Austin Powers" film could suffer from similar problems.
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film → find → problems
Humor website Cracked wrote at the time, "A big issue in The Pentaverate is that it not only feels like Mike Myers hasn't made comedy in a decade, it feels like he hasn't been on earth for several years," adding, "The commentator uses a lot of dated far right propaganda, most notably of which is Hillary's emails, a reference no one has made since 2017."
"Please, please, please, if they green light another Austin Powers, let it be better than The Pentaverate," the review concluded.
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review → write → Pentaverate
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