Is there going to be a Mamma Mia 3?
Stars of the movies and members of Abba have been teasing a third film. Here we go again!
It's been almost five years since we last travelled to Kalokairi in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and since then rumours have continued to swirl about a possible third film in the series.
The most recent update on the film's progress came from Judy Cramer, the creator of the original musical and producer on both previous films, who told Deadline that while there is nothing "official" to announce as of yet, she does have a story in mind and the project is in its "earliest stages".
Craymer also teased that Meryl Streep could be back as Donna, despite her character's death between films one and two. But what else do we know about Mamma Mia 3 at this point?
Read on for everything you need to know about the potential for a third film in the Mamma Mia franchise.
What has been said about Mamma Mia 3?
When the second film, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released in 2018, Amanda Seyfried, Lily James, Pierce Brosnan and Christine Baranski all expressed their interest in returning for another sequel.
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Here We Go Again goes back in time to when Donna first met the three possible fathers of her daughter Sophie, and James told RadioTimes.com her idea for a follow-up: “We laughed that it could be ‘Mamma Mia! The DNA Test’. You finally find out who the dad is.”
Baranski said she would be up for a third film too, saying: "We’re ready for the next sequel because it’s just so much fun to do." When asked whether she would be on board, Seyfried added: "Oh yeah! Beyond yes."
Given that the gap between the first and second films was 10 years, Brosnan quipped that if there’s going to be another movie, "we better make it soon, I think".
Later that year, the creator behind the original stage musical and producer on both films Judy Craymer noted the appetite among fans for another film. "I’ve seen on social media somebody saying, 'Please can you make it like Fast & Furious.' We could just keep going. I don’t know," she told RadioTimes.com.
And she also echoed Brosnan’s views, saying: "I just know if we did we’d have to do it much quicker than 10 years because we’d all be quite old. And who would it be? Is it Ruby and Fernando’s story?"
Then, 10 months later in May 2019, James set tongues wagging after she posted an Instagram snap of herself frolicking on the island of Vis in Croatia – the filming location for the 2018 sequel. She sparked further rumours by posting a series of ABBA show tunes on her Instagram story, however that all seemingly came to nothing.
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And then, in June 2019, Abba’s Bjorn Ulvaeus said he would potentially be interested on working on a new film. "If someone comes up with an idea for Mamma Mia! 3 you know I’ll have a look at it," he told Magic Radio. We’ll have a look at it."
Days later, the star U-turned on the prospect of a third film, telling Good Morning Britain that any notion of Mamma Mia 3 is just speculation. "No plans for that, that’s just rumours," he said. "No plans for that."
It's been almost four years since then and still rumours have swirled, but nothing concrete has come up. However, in May 2023, Cramer sparked hopes once more, as she hinted that more could still be to come in the franchise.
She told Deadline that a third film is "in its earliest stages", and revealed that she has come up with a way to bring back all of the previous movie’s fan-favourite characters. Craymer said there is currently nothing official and stressed that she doesn't want to "over-egg it", but added that she knows "there's a trilogy there".
She continued: "There is a story there, and I do think Meryl should come back — and if the script is right, she would, I think, because she really loved playing Donna."
What happened in Mamma Mia 1 and 2?
The first film tells the story, through the medium of Abba hits, of a bride-to-be named Sophie on the Greek island of Kalokairi. Just before her wedding, Sophie discovers that any one of three men could be her father, so she invites all of them to the ceremony without telling her mother, Donna.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again then revolves around the launch of Bella Donna, a hotel opened by Donna’s daughter Sophie in honour of her mother Donna who – shock horror – is revealed to have died at the start of the film.
The second movie then goes back in time to when Donna first met her three lovers (and Sophie’s three possible fathers).
Read more:
- Lily James Instagram post sparks Mamma Mia 3 rumours
- Mamma Mia! 2 stars Amanda Seyfried and Lily James are keen for another film
Which cast members could return for Mamma Mia 3?
The original movie starred Amanda Seyfried as Sophie, Meryl Streep as Donna, and Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård as the three possible fathers Sam, Harry and Bill. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski also starred as Donna’s former bandmates Rosie and Tanya.
The sequel then saw Lily James play the young Donna, and Jeremy Irvine, Hugh Skinner and Josh Dylan play young Sam, Harry and Bill. It also brought back Seyfried as Sophie and Streep as Donna – as a figment of Sophie’s imagination – and introduced new cast members Andy Garcia as Fernando and Cher as his love interest and grandmother of Sophie, Ruby.
If James’s idea of a third movie featuring a DNA test actually happens, then a new film could see Seyfried’s Sophie presenting her three possible fathers with a test. It had seemed that we wouldn't see Meryl Streep back, but Craymer has since said she would want her to return and that she had worked out a way for it to happen. Intriguing...
Meanwhile, if, as Craymer previously suggested, a third film revolves around Ruby and Fernando’s story, then we can certainly expect to see Cher and Andy Garcia reprising their roles.
Watch this space.
What songs could be in Mamma Mia 3?
There would have to be Mamma Mia again as it's the title. The two films have definitely taken most of the top hits, but there are a plenty more to go.
Dancing Queen, I Have a Dream, The Name of the Game, Super Trouper and Waterloo have appeared.
Mamma Mia 1 songs
- 'Chiquitita'
- 'Does Your Mother Know'
- 'Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)'
- 'Honey, Honey'; 'I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do'
- 'Lay All Your Love on Me'
- 'Money, Money, Money'
- 'Our Last Summer'
- 'Slipping Through My Fingers'
- 'SOS'
- 'Take a Chance on Me'
- 'Thank You for the Music'
- 'The Winner Takes It All'
- 'Voulez-Vous'
- 'When All Is Said and Done'
Mamma Mia 2 songs
- 'Andante, Andante'
- 'Angel Eyes'
- 'Fernando'
- 'I Wonder (Departure)'
- 'I've Been Waiting for You'
- 'Kisses of Fire'
- 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'
- 'My Love, My Life'
- 'One of Us'
- 'The Day Before You Came'
- 'When I Kissed the Teacher'
- 'Why Did It Have to Be Me?'
That leaves us plenty like Hasta Manana, Head over Heels, I Am the City, I'm a Marionette, Lovelight, and Man in the Middle. And there's even more than that (Ring Ring, Summer Night City...).
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