The dancing queens of Mamma Mia may be returning for another encore. Rumors about a third film in the hit musical franchise were sparked after recent comments from Judy Craymer, a producer behind the original stage production of Mamma Mia. "I was meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months. But then I got hit with COVID fog," she told the Daily Mail when asked about work on Mamma Mia 3. "I think one day there will be another film, because there's meant to be a trilogy, you see." She added, "I know Universal would like me to do it."
Now star Amanda Seyfried, who played Sophie in both Mamma Mia (2008) and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again (2018), is weighing in on the speculation. Ahead, everything we know about the trilogy-making sequel, including Meryl Streep's involvement and why Cher's character could be the focus.
No official sequel has been confirmed.
Although Cramer's interview with the Daily Mail started conversation about the third film, there hasn't been any word from Universal about an official commission. There is reason to believe the studio would be interested in a follow-up, considering the box office success of the previous movies. The original movie, based on the hit Broadway musical, earned $609.8 million at the box office. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again grossed nearly $400 million worldwide.
Amanda Seyfried says she'd say yes to returning "in a heartbeat."
The musical movies tell the story of mother-daughter duo Donna (Streep) and Sophie (Seyfried) and their lives on a secluded Greek island. When Sophie plans to get married to Sky (Dominic Cooper) she searches for the identity of her birth father. The only problem: there are three viable options for that title, played by Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, and Pierce Brosnan. In Here We Go Again, the island is left reeling after Donna's death but reunite for the re-opening of her hotel amid news that Sophie is pregnant.
When asked by Collider if she'd return to the world of Mamma Mia, Seyfried said, "Listen, every single person in that movie would say yes in a heartbeat, because we want to hang out with each other. That’s what we talked about last time, like, 'did we ever think that we’d end up here again on an island in Croatia?' So yeah, I wish there was a Mamma Mia 3."
The third movie would feature new ABBA songs.
While Seyfried expressed excitement about returning to her breakout role, she did note that there may not be enough songs from the ABBA catalogue for another movie. "But I’ll tell you what—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and I hope I’m wrong again. I don’t think there are enough ABBA songs to make a third movie," she told Collider. "Because we’d have to use 'Super Trooper' again and we’d have to use 'Mamma Mia' again and have to use them in a different way."
Craymer did address this issue in her interview, claiming that four new songs written by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus "for the virtual concert they’ve planned with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad" would be used in a third film.
Meryl Streep isn't likely to return.
One of the more heartbreaking moments in the Mamma Mia universe (alongside a Brosnan solo or two) was the decision to have Streep's Donna die ahead of the sequel. However, Streep did make a few cameo appearances in the 2018 film and Seyfried says her death inspired creative storylines. "With the second story, it could have been anything," Seyfried told Collider. "Having Meryl’s character die kind of gave us so many good storylines. It was kind of a genius idea because you’re like, no, we don’t want to lose her. But at the same time, look at what you can do, you can go back. And Lily James can play young Meryl. It was just perfect. It was so well written."
The second movie transitioned between the present day and Donna's past, where she meets Young Bill (Josh Dylan), Young Sam (Jeremy Irvine), and Young Harry (Hugh Skinner) for the first time. It also explored how Donna began the Dynamos supergroup with her friends, Tanya (Jessica Keenan Wynn) and Rosie (Alexa Davies). So if Streep were to be involved with a third film, it would need to be via flashback.
Mamma Mia 3 could focus on Cher's character.
With Streep's departure from Mamma Mia came the arrival of Cher as Ruby, Donna's absentee mother and a performer in her own right. She was a standout character in the sequel and revived a romance of her own with Fernando (Andy Garcia). Back in April, James joked about a third film, captioning a photo of a Zoom conversation between herself and co-stars Keenan Wynn, Davies, Dylan, Irvine, and Skinner. "Mamma Mia 3. It's happening," she wrote, via Entertainment Tonight.
In the outlet's interview with cast members in 2018, they suggested a new film follow Cher's character in the past. "Dream plotline: We go back and look at Ruby and her journey through heartbreak and beyond," Keenan Wynn told the outlet. "With Senor Cienfuegos," James added, referencing Andy Garcia's character, whom Ruby met before Donna was born. The co-stars even proposed that Lady Gaga play young Ruby, which will forevermore be my dream film.
A release date is likely years away.
There's no timetable for when this hypothetical Gaga/Cher Mamma Mia 3 would hit theaters. (But it will be starring in our dreams tonight.) COVID-19 restrictions on filming coupled with the 10-year gap between the first two movies means we're likely years away from another big screen ABBA musical. Until then, we always have the originals.
