Austin Powers was a franchise that brought laughter to audiences everywhere, thanks to its nostalgia and humor. While Mike Myers is the face of the franchise, many remember actress Elizabeth Hurley as the love interest and sidekick. However, she never returned for the third film, but she has a pretty reason why.
Hurley had a good reason to bow out of the third film
In the Austin Powers film series, Hurley played sidekick and love interest Vanessa Kensington, appearing in both Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999). Seemingly a staple character in the franchise, Hurley explained that she couldn’t return as Kensington in the third installment.
In an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, she explained how she had been pregnant with her now 21-year-old son Damian when a third film was proposed. “When I was offered it, I said to them — and they were the first people who knew, aside from my immediate family — I said, ‘Guys, I’m pregnant.’ And I was pregnant with my son,” she recalled. “I said, ‘So, unless you shoot it literally next week, I don’t think I can shoot it.'”
Initially, the executives brushed off Hurley’s concerns about shooting while pregnant. They told her, “Oh, you’ll be fine, you’re so skinny.'” However, she knew that her body was going to change. “I put on 63 lbs. when I was pregnant,” she explained. “I was like, ‘No, no, you don’t understand. You really have to shoot really soon.'”
She loved her replacement
When the time came to get the cameras rolling, it was clear Hurley was pregnant. Her baby bump was quite visible, with no way to hide it. In the end, she couldn’t do the film, just like she had said. “So it wasn’t my fault,” she joked, “It would be like Dr. Evil had impregnated me once I was away, so it couldn’t work!”
A third film was going to happen, the producers just needed to pivot the storyline to exclude the character of Kensington. Not all hope was lost, as they were able to secure another bombshell for the role of sidekick: they cast Beyoncé as undercover spy Foxxy Cleopatra. Hurley was happy with her replacement, saying, “I love Beyoncé. I love Austin Powers.” Reiterating, she said, “It just wasn’t my fault.”
She’s down for another Austin Powers film
While she couldn’t participate in the third film, Hurley says she would happily join the cast if a fourth were in the works. However, she has one stipulation–Mike Myers has to be involved. Of course, there’s no Austin Powers without Mike Myers, but she has good reason for requesting his return. She explained how he “goes down as one of my very favorite costars.” She continued, “A brilliant man, fabulously kind and gentle and of course one of the best comedians on Earth. Mike is a genius. It would be wonderful to do something with him again.”
Turns out, Myers himself has teased the possibility of a fourth film, saying, “I can neither confirm nor deny the existence or non-existence of such a project, should it exist or not exist” back in 2022. He said he “would love to do” a fourth movie.
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Hurley says there is one thing that may have to change if she were to join a fourth film, and that’s the costumes. “I’m not sure I’d fit in my costumes again,” she said, joking that she’d have to do the film “in slightly different costumes.”