Austin Powers is a series of American satirical spy comedy films created by Mike Myers, who stars as the British spy Austin Powers as well as his arch-nemesis, Dr. Evil. The series consists of International Man of Mystery (1997), The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and Goldmember (2002), all of which were directed by Jay Roach, and co-produced and released by New Line Cinema.
The series is a satire of numerous films and characters, particularly the James Bond series and Jason King, and incorporates many other elements of popular culture as it follows a British spy's quest to bring down his nemesis. The character of Powers represents an archetype of 1960s Swinging London, with his advocacy of free love, his use of obscure impressions, and his clothing style. The films also poke fun at the outrageous plots, rampant sexual innuendo, and one-dimensional stock characters associated with 1960s spy films.
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Development
Myers himself has stated in interviews that the idea for Austin Powers came to him one night while driving home from ice hockey practice. Hearing the song "The Look of Love" by Burt Bacharach on his car radio, he wondered "Where have all the swingers gone?" and conceived the character who would become Austin Powers.
In an interview in November 2018 with Access Hollywood, Myers stated, "After my dad died in 1991, I was taking stock of his influence on me as a person and his influence on me with comedy in general. So Austin Powers was a tribute to my father, who [introduced me to] James Bond, Peter Sellers, The Beatles, The Goodies, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore."
The Austin Powers character first appeared in the band Ming Tea, with Myers as Powers, Susanna Hoffs as Jillian Shagwell, and Matthew Sweet as Sid Belvedere. Myers' wife Robin Ruzan said Myers should write a movie based on Powers.
The first phrase he thought the character might say was "Do I make you horny?", which later did indeed become a catchphrase for the character. He has also disclosed that the character also draws on his recollections of former Radio Caroline DJ Simon Dee, who hosted the first real television chat show in the United Kingdom in 1967, which ended with his driving off in a sports car with a young blonde in the passenger seat. An important inspiration for the series is British super spy James Bond. Myers said of Bond: "I can't even tell you how huge it was in our house ... That's really why I wanted to do Austin Powers. Austin Powers is out of pure love for James Bond."
Though Myers is Canadian by birth, his parents are natives of Liverpool, England, and Myers holds dual nationality. Although the films parody the plots and characters of 1960s spy movies and the Swinging London fashion scene of the era, the humour is influenced by Myers's British heritage, particularly the Carry On films and the comedic works of Benny Hill and Peter Sellers, the latter of whom Myers is a self confessed fan (his favorite films being the Bond spoof Casino Royale and The Party).
Austin Powers is everything I watched (on TV in the late sixties). My parents were from Liverpool, and there's no one more English than an Englishman who no longer lives there. Every molecule of British culture that came across the Atlantic was tasted and worshipped.
Cars
The series featured two cars with license plates reading "SWINGER" and "SWINGER2" and collectively dubbed the "Shaguars" that were portrayed by a 1961 Jaguar E-Type and a 2001 Jaguar XK8 convertible, with a Union Jack paint scheme. The Ministry of Defence creates two cars to transport Powers through time: a psychedelic rainbow painted 1999 Volkswagen "New Beetle" convertible in the second film, and a purple 1975 Cadillac Eldorado Fleetwood "pimpmobile" (license plate "SWNGR 3") in the third.
In the second film, Felicity Shagwell drives a 1965 Chevrolet Corvette with an American flag paint scheme. In the third, Nigel Powers has a 2001 Mini Cooper which can travel underwater, and which bears the license plate "GR8 SHAG".
Reception
Media
Films
The series consists of three films:
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery released on May 2, 1997
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me released on June 11, 1999
Austin Powers in Goldmember released on July 26, 2002
Television
Austin Powers' Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swingers Club aired April 1997
Games
Austin Powers Operation: Trivia (PC, Macintosh, 1999)
Austin Powers: Oh, Behave! (Game Boy Color, 2000)
Austin Powers: Welcome to My Underground Lair! (Game Boy Color, 2000)
Austin Powers Pinball (PlayStation and PC, 2002)
Austin Powers: Mojo Rally (Dreamcast, Cancelled)
Austin Powers, a ticket redemption game by Sega Pinball (1997)
Austin Powers Collectible Card Game by Decipher Inc (1999)
Austin Powers (pinball) (Stern Pinball, 2001)
Cancelled animated series
HBO purchased the rights to produce an animated series based on the Austin Powers films in May 1999. Despite announcing plans for a thirteen-episode season, HBO ultimately shelved the project. Writer Donick Cary originally left The Simpsons after writing the first draft of the first segment of the eleventh season episode "Treehouse of Horror X" to work on the Austin Powers cartoon.
Possible fourth film
In an interview in October of 2005, with Entertainment Weekly, Mike Myers discussed the possibility of studio sources moving forward with a fourth film: "There is hope! We're all circling and talking to each other. I miss doing the characters."
In May 2007, in an interview with IGN, Myers was asked "So no more Austin Powers?". He replied: "No, no, there is a fully conceived idea for a fourth and I can just say that it's from Dr. Evil's point of view. So if you balanced how much of it was Austin with Dr. Evil, it's more about Dr. Evil than Austin". In the audio commentary from the DVD release of Austin Powers in Goldmember, Myers revealed that in the fourth film, Fat Bastard would return and regain the weight that he lost in Goldmember. He also said that he would start work on it after he finished work on The Love Guru, which became a box office bomb. In February 2008, it was announced that Jay Roach would return as director. In April 2008, it was reported that Gisele Bündchen had been offered a role in the film.
However, Seth Green, who played Scott Evil, stated that there was no script at the moment and that Austin Powers 4 would be made if a script is written and approved. In June 2008, in an interview, when asked about another Austin Powers film, Myers stated, "I have an idea, and again it's one of those things that will emerge or it won't." In July 2008, Mike Myers stated that he had begun writing Austin Powers 4, and that the plot is "really about Dr. Evil and his son."
Jay Roach indicated in March 2010 to MTV that Myers is working on ideas for a fourth film. In August 2011, Mike Myers revealed he would return, and had begun writing a script for a fourth installment. In September 2013, when asked about the future of Austin Powers, Myers answered "I'm still figuring that out." In September 2015, Verne Troyer expressed his desire to return as Mini-Me if he was asked to do so.
In May 2016, Roach was asked about the fourth Austin Powers film during an interview with Larry King, and he stated the ideas for the fourth film that he and Myers have are good and interesting. In August 2016, in a telephone interview, Mike Myers stated "Everything is being negotiated and worked out and all that stuff" regarding the fourth installment of the Austin Powers film series.
Social concerns
The Austin Powers films have attracted controversy for their adult content while receiving the less-restricted PG-13-rating in the United States, prior to critics' protests against the MPAA's ratings in 2010. Nell Minow of Common Sense Media expressed concern about the films exposing minors to explicit sexual content. In Malaysia, the films were regarded to be almost pornographic; The Spy Who Shagged Me was banned from being screened, while Goldmember was released with the 18SX-rating.