Have the time of your life! Mama Mia! left a lasting impression in 2008 as the cast transported viewers to Greece while singing ABBA’s greatest hits – and one movie just wasn’t enough.
Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried captivated audiences as mother-daughter duo Donna and Sophie in the original film. Hoping to get answers about who her father is, Sophie contacts three of her mother’s old flames – Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard) and Harry (Colin Firth) – before his marriage.
Although fans never officially learn who Sophie’s father is, the men all agree to stay in her life as father figures. Meanwhile, the unfolding love story between Donna and Sam leaves viewers yearning for their own European fairy tale.
A decade after the success of the musical, the producer Judy Cramer gave fans a second film filled with more bits of ABBA and Greek island mischief. 2018 Mama Mia! Here we go again introduced viewers to a young Donna, played by Lily Jamesand his three lightning novels.
Donna’s origin story also brought Dear into the mix as his mother, Ruby Sheridan. Along with a few newbies, the original cast all appeared in the sequel, including Donna’s adult best friends, Rosie (played by Julie Walters) and Tanya (Christine Baransky), who played a big role in both stories.
In August 2021, Craymer reflected on the two hit films, which were inspired by the Mama Mia! Broadway musical premiered in 1999.
“Meryl was the first choice [for Donna]. I had seen her in a play… and I was like, ‘Oh, my God, she’s good,'” the English filmmaker recalled during an interview with Daily Mail+. “She jumped on it before reading the script because she had seen the play in New York. I had called his agent and asked him, which wasn’t really protocol. He called Meryl, thinking she would say no. She shouted into the phone, “I’m Mamma Mia!” She was so supportive.
The producer explained that – despite the rave reviews for the first movie – “nothing ever moves that fast” in Hollywood, so the sequel took 10 years to hit the big screen.
“It felt natural and the right time. Everyone wanted to come together for this,” Craymer said of the second film, noting that Streep rarely – if ever – does sequels, but she agreed to return. “I think we missed her. It was just a big party, really.
Craymer also teased the possibility of a third blockbuster – and many of the films’ stars hinted at wanting to return to Greece one last time.
“I still think it wouldn’t be fun to get together on this Greek island and maybe film us all having dinner and telling stories and singing all the ABBA songs?” Baransky said Weekly entertainment in January 2022 when asked to reunite for a possible Mama Mia! 3. “And then have it filmed as a good night out.”
Scroll down to see what the cast and creators of the Mama Mia! franchise said to make it a trilogy:
