Amanda Seyfried is offering insight into why Mamma Mia! 3 has yet to move forward.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the premiere of her limited series Long Bright River, which she also executive produced, Seyfried was asked about the possibility of a third Mamma Mia! film. In response, she jokingly said, “Show me the money!”
On a more serious note, the actress elaborated in the interview, published on Friday, March 7, saying, “Producer Judy Craymer is always working on it, but Universal still has to release Wicked 2. The first Wicked had to stall when Mamma Mia! 2 was getting made.”
Seyfried, 39, further explained, “It’s an either/or situation with musicals. And I have this theory that Universal just knows we’re going to do it, so they’re not in any rush.”
“And it’s just going to cost double,” she added.
The Legacy of Mamma Mia!
Seyfried starred alongside Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters, Christine Baranski, and more in Mamma Mia!, the 2008 film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on ABBA’s music.
The movie follows Seyfried’s character, Sophie, a young woman living on a fictional Greek island who invites three men to her wedding—one of whom she believes is her biological father—in the hopes of discovering the truth about her parentage.
A decade later, Seyfried and much of the original cast returned for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), a film that served as both a sequel and a prequel.
Lily James portrayed a younger version of Streep’s character, Donna, in flashbacks that explored her past relationships with Sophie’s three possible fathers.
Meanwhile, in the present-day storyline, Sophie and her husband Sky (played by Cooper, 46) prepared to welcome their own child.
Though nothing has been officially confirmed about a third installment, Baranski, 72, told in August 2024 that Craymer, 67, was “already planning” another movie. “She gave me the narrative plotline of how it’s going to happen. That’s all I can say!” Baranski shared.
Meryl Streep’s Possible Return
In May 2024, Streep, 75, told that discussions regarding her return for a third Mamma Mia! film were “imminent,” despite her character Donna having died before the events of the second movie.
Seyfried speculated on this plot challenge in her recent interview saying, “Maybe that’s the stall. They still haven’t figured out how to bring her back from the dead.”
She then jokingly added, “From what I was told, that was her choice—so maybe it’s on her to write it.”
The Emmy-winning actress went on to express confidence that Streep “has ideas” for how Donna could return, calling the three-time Oscar winner “a genius.”
“But I hope they figure it out,” Seyfried said. “The one day that she was on set for the last movie was when it finally felt like we were all together again.”
