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Austin Powers masks are selling out this Halloween because of Baby Driver

The blockbuster's best scene is providing costume inspiration across the globe

Jacob Stolworthy
Thursday 26 October 2017 10:50 BST
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This Halloween, chances are you'll spot an unlikely face among the inevitable influx of Wonder Woman, Pennywise and Eleven from Stranger Things costumes.

Those looking to disguise themselves as international man of mystery Austin Powers are in for a struggle with all the masks sold out on costume sites and websites Amazon and eBay.

Blame Edgar Wright. In the director's sleeper hit action film Baby Driver - which starred Ansel Elgort as a music-obsessed getaway driver - one scene saw a trio of robbers donning masks of the Mike Myers character during a heist following a comedic blunder having intended to purchase masks of Halloween killer Michael Myers.

Not that Wright cares - he told 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.”

The scene was originally meant to see just one character wearing the wrong mask, however, after failing to get clearance in time, the script was tweaked and - thanks to Myers' blessing - the film's funniest scene was born.

“I'm equally proud of my work as the killer in Halloween as I am for my work in Austin Powers,” Myers told THR.

This year marked the 20th anniversary of first Austin Powers film International Man of Mystery. Two sequels followed - The Spy Who Shagged Me and Austin Powers in Goldmember - in 1999 and 2003.

Baby Driver co-starred Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm and Kevin Spacey.

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