Get your mojo revving--Austin Powers is gearing up for a threesome.
Goldmember, the third installment of the wildly popular psychedelic superspy series, is planned for a July 26, 2002, release, New Line Cinema announced Thursday.
Mike Myers and fellow Powers scribe Michael McCullers finished the script and New Line Cinema is eager to push their multi-million dollar franchise forward, with shooting set to begin mid-November. It's no surprise that the third Powers film is in the pipeline so quickly, considering The International Man of Mystery grossed $88 million worldwide and its sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me more than tripled that sum, earning $310 million, making it the highest grossing film in New Line's history.
Back in February, Myers received a shagadelic advance of $25 million, plus 21 percent of gross profits--which could reap the comedian upwards of $60 million. (Groovy, baby!) However, it wasn't clear until today when the third go round would surface since Myers had several projects on his plate, including the remake of The Pink Panther.
"I can't wait to start. We had a blast writing Goldmember. It's like a big party," Myers said in a statement released by New Line, indicating he has postponed his other projects.
For the third and perhaps final Powers, Myers' will recreate the title character, his notorious nemesis Dr. Evil and Fat Bastard, the Scottish spy who eats anything and everything. He'll also play a new villain, the titular Goldmember, who, according to director Jay Roach, has some interesting qualities.
"Every time Mike lapsed into the character in readings, we would literally lose it and take time to regain our composure," Roach told Variety. Roach, who made his directorial debut with International Man of Mystery and has since helmed its sequel and Meet the Parents, is also signed on for Goldmember.
Other familiar characters expected to reappear are Mini-Me, played by Verne Troyer, Dr. Evil's apathetic son Scott, played by Seth Green and Number 2, this time played by both Robert Wagner and Rob Lowe in a time-travel sequence. And in keeping with the first two films, star cameos with Bond-spoofing character names are highly likely.
A new Powers girl and love interest will be introduced. But just as Elizabeth Hurley had a cameo in the second film, Heather Graham will probably make an appearance in the third. No word yet on the identity of the new mystery woman.
