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You can blame Edgar Wright for the lack of Austin Powers rubber masks in stores for this Halloween…
In the hit action film ‘Baby Driver’ starring Ansel Elgort as a music-obsessed getaway driver, a major scene showed three robbers wearing Austin Powers masks after intending to buy the masks of Halloween murderer Michael Myers (the joke being that the fictitious killer and actor that played powers have the same name).
Wright apparently doesn’t care, telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I'm very proud. I feel like through my career, I have given people some very easy Halloween costumes, like Shaun in Shaun of the Dead. I even mentioned to Warner Bros that they may ship a lot of masks at Halloween, and I think that's exactly what's happened.”
Wright also explained that the Austin Powers mask moment happened out of necessity, after having to redo the original bit.
In the beginning, only one of the robbers were going to have the Austin Powers mask. The other two would have correct slasher masks, which Wright believed would make the three look silly or odd altogether.
Sadly, the production was unable to get the clearance in time to use the other mask, so the script was then altered to use three Mike Myers masks.
According to the Independent, so many ‘Baby Driver’ and Elgort fans were hoping to make the joke that the masks have flown off the shelves leading up to Halloween.
This year also marked the 20th anniversary of first Austin Powers film, ‘International Man of Mystery’. Regardless, people believe the increase in masks purchases is from ‘Baby Driver’ and not the anniversary.