Will there be a Mamma Mia 3? Meryl Streep shares surprise update

Here we go again, Abba fans. Mamma Mia 3 appears to finally be happening.

Cast members have repeatedly teased the prospect of a third film in the feel-good musical franchise, which features the Swedish pop group's greatest hits.

And the producer behind the previous two instalments has now confirmed plans for a new movie. Here's everything we know about Mamma Mia 3.

Will there be a Mamma Mia 3?

Mamma Mia producer Judy Craymer has confirmed that the threequel is in the works. "I think we have to bring a certain closure to these characters," she told Vogue in September 2023. "All of their odysseys lead them back to the island, because that's where they all want to be in their older years."

She previously revealed that the script was "in its earliest stages", adding: "I don't want to over-egg it, but I know there's a trilogy there."

Donna Langley, chair of film studio Universal, said: "Universal would love to make a third movie, and I'll leave it at that."

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Speculation over a possible Mamma Mia 3 began to swirl as soon as the second film, titled Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, hit cinemas in 2018. The sequel took a huge amount of Money, Money, Money at the box office, making a third instalment almost inevitable.

Ol Parker, who directed Here We Go Again, told Screen Rant in December 2022 that "there is a hunger for a third, and I know that [Craymer] has a plan. Wouldn't it be lovely?"

However, Mamma Mia 3 has yet to be officially announced by Universal, meaning that fans may face a lengthy wait until it hits cinema screens. This article will be updated when we receive an official release date.

What happened in Mamma Mia 1 and 2?

The original Mamma Mia film, released in 2008, introduces viewers to bride-to-be Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), who lives on a sun-soaked Greek island with her mother, hotel owner Donna (Meryl Streep).

Sophie wants her father to walk her down the aisle, but doesn't know who her dad is. She secretly invites three of Donna's former partners to the wedding: Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgard).

At the altar, Sophie and her fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper) decide to postpone the wedding because they travel the world first. Sam and Donna get engaged after rekindling their love. The paternity issue is never resolved but the three men all agree to act as father figures to Sophie.

2018's Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again takes place five years after the events of the original film. Donna (played in flashbacks by Lily James) has died. A grieving Sophie is pregnant with her first child and having relationship issues with Sky.

She learns more about her mother's past while trying to reopen her hotel, and reunites with her estranged grandmother Ruby (Cher). She gives birth to a baby boy and Donna's ghost (a present-day Streep) watches the christening.

Both movies are soundtracked by Abba's greatest hits, including Mamma Mia (of course), Dancing Queen, Waterloo, SOS and Super Trouper.

Who could be in the Mamma Mia 3 cast?

Many cast members have already expressed their desire to return for the trilogy topper, including Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, Lily James, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard and Christine Baranski.

"I dare you to show me one person who doesn't want a third Mamma Mia," Seyfried told Vogue in September 2023. "Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either. The powers that be probably can’t afford us to be honest."

Streep, meanwhile, said she would "totally" return to the franchise if there were plans "to reincarnate Donna".

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Producer Judy Craymer said that Streep became "more open to the prospect of a third [film]" after feeling "the joy of reuniting" with the cast on Here We Go Again.

James said she was was "desperate" to return to the crowd-pleasing franchise, adding: "Why isn't it happening? We all need it... Let's do Mamma Mia."

Firth even opened the door to possible fourth and fifth films. "If you manage to make a second one, I guess you can make a third, a fourth, and a fifth," he told Good Morning America.

Judy Craymer on Mamma Mia!: 'I know there's a trilogy there'