As you might remember, late this summer, probably in an effort to revive a career that is for all intents and purposes dead, it was announced that Mike Myers was going to dust off the ugly dentures to play Austin Powers — again — in a fourth movie. Aside from his voicework in the "Shrek" series, Myers has become something of non-presence on the big screen popping up in a cameo in "Inglourious Basterds" after tanking hard with "The Love Guru." The cultural zeitgeist around all things retro seems to have died, but for whatever reason New Line seems to think this franchise still has life and if Myers has his way, "Austin Powers" is going to be bigger than ever.
In addition to getting the fourth movie off the ground, THR reveals that Myers is planning a musical stage show and that "Book Of Mormon" co-director Casey Nicholaw will helm. But wait, there's more. The show will be a prequel the current trilogy of movies, showing how Austin first got his mojo. But don't worry, Myers will not be starring in that production (thank God), since he'll be busy penning the script for the fourth film as the New York Post reports that the deal for that one has been finalised with New Line. No release has been slated, but you're looking at 2013 or 2014 earliest for the movie.
While the idea of a musical isn't necessarily a bad one — it seems like a natural extension of the movies which had dance/musical sequences — we just don't care about this franchise anymore. We have no desire to see Myers (or whoever) sport a phony accent, use '60s slang and shamelessly hit on women. The exaggerated tropes of the era have been mined to death, but we suppose there is a whole new generation yet to experience Myers' hairy chest. So get ready folks, if Hollywood and Broadway have their way, the '60s spoof is going to be making a major comeback. Groovy, baby.
