Everything you need to know about a potential Mamma Mia! 3 (2024)

Mamma Mia! 3 is still not guaranteed to be happening, but creator Judy Craymer is busy keeping in touch with all the cast.

In August 2024, Christine Baranski revealed that she met up with Craymer where, of course, they discussed a potential third movie. And in November 2024, Pierce Brosnan revealed he also met with Craymer recently.

"Judy Craymer is a dear friend, and we met during the summer, and I believe that my fellow thespians would all jump at the chance to go and do Mamma Mia 3," he told The Hollywood Reporter.

"I think it's doable. Of course, it's always the story. What is the story? I would definitely welcome the opportunity to go back into the world of Mamma Mia!, for sure."

Their comments followed similarly positive talk about a third movie from Meryl Streep, who said in May 2024 that was going to have a conversation about it "pretty soon".

It doesn't mean that Mamma Mia! 3 will end up happening, as the movie has not been officially confirmed, but it shows that conversations are happening and we shouldn't lose hope yet.

Back in October 2023, producer Judy Craymer assured fans that threequel "will happen".

"I am so hands on with everything that I can only do so much. So the TV show has been a big priority. I'm sure [the third movie] will happen. I'm in the privileged position that I have Universal Studios wanting to do it, who I love working with, and I have a storyline," Craymer revealed to Variety.

As for Lily James, who played the young Donna in the sequel, she's "desperate" for the third movie to happen.

So are we, Lily – so are we.

But while we wait for anything official, here's everything you need to know about a potential Mamma Mia! 3.

As mentioned above, Mamma Mia! 3 has yet to be officially confirmed, so we don't have a release date as of November 2024.

Since the third movie hasn't been officially confirmed, we don't yet have a release date, but we can make some guesses.

The previous two movies came out in July, so it seems unlikely that they'd move away from that, given that the previous two movies have been such a success in summer.

It only took around a year between filming starting and the movie being released on the first two outings in the series. That probably rules out a July 2025 release, so we're looking more at July 2026.

Let's just hope they don't keep us waiting for the same 10-year gap that there was between the first and second movie.

For now, though, we'll just have to wait to see if Mamma Mia! 3 even gets confirmed before we get too excited about a release.

Should the third movie be confirmed, we don't imagine they'll struggle to get the cast back together, so expect to see all your favourites again.

Amanda Seyfried has changed her mind on whether a third movie will happen from "I don't f**king think so" to "beyond yes", even if she isn't convinced there are enough ABBA songs remaining to make it work.

In June 2023, she revealed "there's lots of talk", but she jokingly added: "I just don't think Universal can afford us."

So, if they manage to get a script that works for the third movie, we might or might not see Seyfried return as Sophie Sheridan — along with the likes of Dominic Cooper as Sophie's husband Sky, Christine Baranski as Tanya and Julie Walters as Rosie.

And what would a Mamma Mia! movie be without Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård as Sophie's three fathers Sam, Harry and Bill?

Even before his recent comments, Brosnan seemed keen to return when asked about a potential third movie in October 2022: "I'm in, too. Sure. It's criminal how much fun you have on that movie."

However, given that the older version of Donna Sheridan (played by Meryl Streep) died between the first and second movies, we're not expecting her to return for a third outing.

Now, Meryl Streep had an excellent idea to bring her back, in case that helps.

"I told [producer] Judy [Craymer] if she could figure out a way to reincarnate Donna, I’m into that. Or it could be like in one of those soap operas where Donna comes back and reveals it was really her twin sister that died," she said to Vogue in September 2023.

She also joked about how long it would take to get the movie made, and we can't blame her, even if her recent comments on the press are way more hopeful than they used to be.

Having already witnessed Donna's past exploits, Lily James (who played the young Donna) could also be missing from a third movie as a result, but she might always be back in flashbacks.

In terms of Sophie's estranged grandmother and Donna's mother, Ruby Sheridan (Cher) was an effective replacement, so we'd expect her to continue to fill that maternal role — even if Cher was playing the mum of Streep in a fairly major time slip for the actresses.

Still, don't rule out Streep entirely if she does fancy playing a part. A ghost version of Donna appeared to sing at the end of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again at the christening of Sophie's daughter, so maybe Streep could continue to look down on and participate in events from the afterlife.

Skarsgård, on the other hand, is all in if a threequel does go ahead. Speaking to Digital Spy, the actor revealed that he would join a third movie in a heartbeat: "I wouldn't have to read the script. If they call, I'll come."

Even his son, Alexander Skarsgård, fancies a role in the third movie. Alexander previously said he would "one hundred percent" sign up for it — not to work with his father but to work again with Meryl Streep.

Would his wish be enough to bring Streep back into the Mamma Mia! mix?

To continue this franchise properly, we're obviously going to need a reprise of 'Mamma Mia', what with it being in the title and all.

There are also a few songs that are solid-gold ABBA classics that have appeared as touchstones in both movies so far and could reappear:

• 'Dancing Queen'
• 'I Have a Dream'
• 'The Name of the Game'
• 'Super Trouper'
• 'Waterloo'

The original Mamma Mia also contained the following ABBA 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'

Meanwhile, Mamma Mia 2 added these ABBA 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?'

As for what other songs might make an appearance in the threequel, it's anybody's guess right now. Fear not though, there's plenty still to mine from ABBA's back catalogue if a third movie happens.

Whatever the choice, you can be sure Cher will be happy to bang out more ABBA hits for our pleasure.

There's no trailer for Mamma Mia! 3 yet, obviously, as the movie hasn't been confirmed, let alone started filming.

In the meantime, you could lose several afternoons enjoying videos of ABBA's back catalogue so here's a great place to get started.