MOVIE NEWS – Mike Myers has brought back one of his most recognizable Austin Powers characters after a long absence. The actor has returned as Dr. Evil in a new video that works as a nostalgia hit, a mini-cast reunion, and a loud reminder that one of the franchise’s best comic weapons still has plenty of charge left.

Mike Myers is responsible for bringing several instantly recognizable characters to the screen, and as a master of comic transformation, he has not only played wildly different figures, but often several of them inside the same project. In the Austin Powers franchise, he famously pulled off quadruple duty: he played the titular “groovy” British spy, the inept nemesis Dr. Evil, the Scottish henchman Fat Bastard, and the Dutch supervillain Goldmember. His heroic and villainous leads in the spy-spoof series remain among the most celebrated parts of his career, but 24 years have now passed since he appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember. That long gap has left fans wondering for years whether he would ever reprise one of those legendary roles, and if so, when.

Now they finally have something. Myers has officially returned as Dr. Evil, with the emphasis very much on the “Dr.,” since the character famously did not spend six years in medical school to be called “Mister.” The actor has stepped back into the signature gray suit, put on the bald cap, and returned as the pinky-to-the-lip megalomaniac mastermind. This comeback is not happening in a new feature film, but in a commercial video, yet the image alone is enough to send longtime Austin Powers viewers straight back to the franchise’s ridiculous villainous circus.

Mike Myers has returned as Dr. Evil for a new Verizon commercial. pic.twitter.com/cGcwnwpPmM

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 16, 2026

The video, shared by DiscussingFilm on X, is careful not only to revive the character, but also to preserve the tone of the original films. The scene takes viewers back inside Dr. Evil’s mountainous lair somewhere outside Las Vegas, where the villain gathers his dysfunctional but unforgettable crew. Seth Green returns as Scott Evil, Rob Lowe appears again as Number 2, and Mindy Sterling is back as Frau Farbissina, while Dr. Evil unveils his newest scheme for world domination: Menace Mobile. The big pitch, naturally, does not go as planned. His associates quickly mock the outdated concept and make it clear they would rather choose Verizon, which is exactly the sort of absurd, self-aware reversal the Austin Powers films were built to exploit.

The commercial promotes Verizon’s newly launched “Simplicity Plan,” which promises to keep things simple by eliminating hidden cell phone charges such as activation and upgrade fees. This is not the first time Myers has reprised one of his beloved Austin Powers roles for an advertisement: he notably returned as Dr. Evil in a 2022 Super Bowl spot built around combating climate change. This latest video, however, leans harder into the old group dynamic, which makes it feel less like a standard ad and more like a short, strange reunion.

For years, a standalone Dr. Evil spin-off movie has been actively discussed, though it has never been officially greenlit. When Myers has been asked directly about a fourth Austin Powers film at red carpet events, he has always kept his cards close to his chest with a joke: “I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project.” At the same time, he has repeatedly made it clear that he would like to return to the franchise. Maybe the Verizon commercial is nothing more than a nostalgic wink. Or maybe it is exactly the kind of reminder that pushes a studio to come forward with an offer of “one million dollars” – or, more realistically, quite a bit more – and let Dr. Evil loose again in a feature-length caper of his own.

Source: MovieWeb