Mike Myers is writing a fourth Austin Powers movie

Mike Myers says he is writing a fourth Austin Powers movie, and the man has a one-line pitch for it. More than two decades after Austin Powers in Goldmember premiered in 2002, the spy-parody franchise is headed back his way.

What he actually said
Myers kept his cards close on the details, but he was clear on the tone."We need much more silly,"he said about the new film. That is the whole quote, and honestly it is enough for me — silly is exactly what I want from this franchise. Asked whether the movie would address current politics, Myers said he could"neither confirm nor deny"any such commentary. So the door is open and also shut, depending on how you read it.

Love, not fear
Myers did get a little more serious about what he thinks audiences are after. He said people want more love and are"sick of fear."He described himself as a Canadian and a progressive, and said he is a lefty. He also brought up Burt Bacharach and the lyric"What the world needs now is love, sweet love."Where that lands in a comedy about a spy with a thing for bad teeth and worse puns, I could not tell you, but I like that he is thinking about it.

Why this one matters
This is a confirmed return for Myers to the franchise, and it has been a long stretch since Goldmember. For anyone who grew up quoting these movies, that is its own kind of news. What comes next is simple: he is writing, and the rest we wait on.

For listeners here
The question I keep coming back to is what you want out of a fourth one. Do you want the pure silly, the way he is describing it, or do you want it to have something to say about the world we are living in right now? Either way, the fact that Myers is the one writing it is the part that makes me pay attention.

What is the one line from an Austin Powers movie you still quote?