Although the current geopolitical situation that has stemmed from the recent terrorist hack on Sony Pictures is no laughing manner, “Saturday Night Live” found a clever way to inject some levity into the dilemma. In the player below, you can check out last night’s “SNL” cold open wherein Mike Myers reprises his role as Austin Powers supervillain Dr. Evil, sharing his own thoughts on what has happened.
Dr. Evil made his first big screen appearance as the central antagonist in the 1997 Jay Roach-helmed Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and returned in both 1999’s Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and 2002’s Austin Powers in Goldmember (both also directed by Roach). Meyers’ take for the character evolved from his own impression of “SNL” creator and producer Lorne Michaels, so the below video also serves as a nice homecoming for the comedy star.
Myers’ big screen output has been fairly light for the past few years. Outside of his return as the voice of the animated ogre in 2010’s Shrek Forever After and a brief scene in Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds in 2009, Myers last leading theatrical role was as the title character in 2008’s not-so-well-received The Love Guru (which itself gets a knock in the new video). Myers did very recently make his directorial debut, however, with Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon, a documentary about the colorful life of Myers’ friend and eventual manager.
Whether or not we’ll eventually get Austin Powers back on the big screen remains to be seen, but check back for updates as they become available. On the flip side of things, there has, despite persistent rumors, yet to be a substantial update regarding release plans for The Interview, but you can read about exactly what’s happening right here.