Some may call it an “unlikely” franchise, but the two Mamma Mia! films combined for over $1 billion, making them among the most successful movie musicals ever. So the only question I have is why we haven’t heard more about a possible sequel to complete a trilogy before now?
According to an interview Daily Mail conducted with producer Judy Cramer, who backed the first two movies and the original ABBA-influenced stageplay, a third film would already be in the planning stages, except that pesky COVID-19 has fouled things up…
“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 continued, “I think one day there will be another film, because there’s meant to be a trilogy, you see. I know Universal would like me to do it.”
It does seem like a trilogy was always the natural endpoint for the story being told. The most recent film, 2018’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, took place some years later as Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) learned of a story about her late mother Donna (Meryl Streep), played in flashback by Lily James. Perhaps a new sequel will go further into the future, with Sophie telling her own kids a story about her grandmother, Ruby, who was played by Cher in the previous two films?
Whatever the decision, expect this to happen sooner rather than later. There’s too much of a financial incentive not to, and these movies are guaranteed to be eternally popular in sing-a-long screenings and on home release.