Wayne's World 3 - Will It Ever Happen?

One of the most popular bits to ever emerge from "Saturday Night Live," "Wayne's World" became a cultural phenomenon in the early 1990s. Creator Mike Myers played Wayne Campbell, an affable Chicago metalhead who hosts a goofy cable access show with his nerdy, shy, equally metal-obsessed best friend Garth Algar (Dana Carvey). In 1992, "Wayne's World" was adapted into an inventive and wildly funny feature film. Here, Wayne gets suckered into selling their show to corporate type Benjamin (Rob Lowe), who exploits it and also tries to steal Wayne's one true love, budding rock star Cassandra (Tia Carrere). A critical and commercial smash, it spawned a 1993 sequel, "Wayne's World 2," in which Wayne and Garth attempt to stage an outdoor music festival.

Logically, "Wayne's World 3" would follow, but that film never quite happened. Is it as likely as monkeys flying out of one's posterior? Or will Wayne and Garth party on in a most excellent manner? Here's why it's taken Hollywood so long to make "Wayne's World 3."

The obvious and ideal time for the release of "Wayne's World 3" would've been the mid-1990s, following its predecessors' respective theatrical runs in 1992 and 1993. But while the original "Wayne's World" earned $183 million and critical acclaim, "Wayne's World 2" took in just $47 million and didn't charm all that many people. Without a demonstrable demand for more "Wayne's World," the creative team behind the franchise moved on. So did Paramount Pictures, who released several more films based on "SNL" sketches. All of them — "Stuart Saves His Family," "A Night at the Roxbury," "Superstar," and "The Ladies Man" – bombed.

Even if a studio had wanted a "Wayne's World" revival in the 2000s, it would've faced a real struggle in getting stars Mike Myers and Dana Carvey back together. Myers was busy with the highly successful "Austin Powers" movies, in which he played both the titular spy and the villain, Dr. Evil. Carvey told "The Howard Stern Show" that he believed Myers stole Dr. Evil's voice, mannerisms, and signature gesture (sticking a pinkie out) from their mutual "SNL" boss Lorne Michaels. As a result, Carvey and Myers weren't on speaking terms for years. Additionally, Myers' relationship with original "Wayne's World" director Penelope Spheeris was fraught because she reportedly wouldn't adhere to his editing suggestions.

In 2023, Dana Carvey stoked new interest in a third "Wayne's World" movie, if not rumors that such a sequel was already in the works. When asked by People if "Wayne's World 3" was going to happen soon, Carvey said, "Yes, it is. I don't know. Maybe we'll do it in puppets. I'm not sure." That ambiguous response came a few weeks after Carvey posted a cryptic photo to his Instagram. The photo depicts someone who is presumably Carvey in full Garth costume, painting a portrait of Mike Myers wearing his Wayne outfit and baseball cap. The caption: "Garth says, 'I like to paint.'"

As for Myers, he's open to the concept of another "Wayne's World" outing. "I don't know what it would look like, but the idea of it makes me laugh and Dana and I had a blast at the 40th anniversary [of 'SNL'], so I don't know," he told the Canadian Press in 2016. Cassandra Wong also seems likely to join the project, should it ever happen. "We'll come out on our walkers and rockers. I'm down for it," Carrere told HollywoodLife in 2020.

As long as Mike Myers and Dana Carvey are alive, well, and willing, another "Wayne's World" is a possibility. But because so much time has passed since the franchise's early '90s heyday, the plot of "Wayne's World 3" would need to address how the characters have aged. That could even be the driving force of the plot. "It would be an interesting examination of Wayne at 50," Myers theorized to the Canadian Press in 2016.

Original "Wayne's World" director Penelope Spheeris thinks a new, contemporary film could take the next-generation approach employed by the similarly long-delayed threequel "Bill and Ted Save the World." "It would be really cool to see young kids as Wayne and Garth running around, but still have the older dads around," Spheeris told PopCulture in 2022.

Filmmakers could also feasibly turn to a "Wayne's World" script that's ready to go. After seeing "Wayne's World 2" in 1993, novice screenwriter Trevor Schindeler wrote a script for "Wayne's World 3." He never convinced anyone connected with the franchise to read it, so in 2016, he started a crowdfunding drive to buy advertising to get "Wayne's World" insiders' attention.

As of 2023, a prospective "Wayne's World 3" is yet to enter pre-production. But the main duo has by no means retired their characters or avoided revisiting the world of Wayne and Garth.

In 2008, Myers hosted the MTV Movie Awards and brought in Carvey for a live "Wayne's World" sketch. Carvey, hosting "SNL" in 2011, returned the favor by bringing along Myers for a new "Wayne's World" installment. The "SNL 40th Anniversary" special in 2015 included an "SNL"-mocking "Wayne's World" sketch. The pair even popped up in a 2021 Super Bowl commercial for Uber Eats. 

Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" figures prominently in the first "Wayne's World," and when the band's biopic of the same name was nominated for multiple trophies at the 2019 Academy Awards, Myers and Carvey introduced a clip in character, though not in costume. The actors even participated in a 2020 episode of Josh Gad's Zoom-based series "Reunited" alongside members of Queen, Aerosmith, and "Wayne's World" scene-stealer Alice Cooper.