After years of uncertainty about Mamma Mia 3, fans have finally received a positive update. The update comes from a cast member from the first two movies in the franchise. The actor’s comment, echoed by other cast members, offers a new glimpse into the possibility of a third installment.
In an interview with People, Dominic Cooper expressed that he wanted to film Mamma Mia 3. In the interview, Cooper said, “It’s a fun bunch of people. I’m desperate to make number three, which is constantly being spoken about. I think it’s just a matter of (plans) kind of working out and working out the story.”
The actor also added that he wouldn’t mind if the third installment featured the same ABBA songs. He joked, “I don’t think it even matters whether they’re all different songs.” In addition, Cooper also revealed he had a storyline in mind for the third installment; however, it didn’t align with the sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again!.
The 48-year-old said, “I’ve realized that I’ve got the whole storyline wrong from the other one, so it didn’t really work. I thought Amanda (Seyfried) and I’d split up (in the sequel), but we get back together. I thought the whole film we could do a whole, like, we meet on the Greek island at someone else’s wedding and get back together.”
In his closing comment, Cooper added, “By the end of this weekend, maybe Amanda and I will come up with the third. They better hurry up, because we’re all getting old. No one’s going to want to see these oldies on the beach.”
What happened in the first two Mamma Mia movies?
Mamma Mia was released in 2008 and was helmed by Phyllida Lloyd. The first movie follows Donna (Meryl Streep), an independent hotelier in the Greek Islands. She prepares for her daughter Sophie’s wedding with the help of her old friends.
Meanwhile, Sophie (Seyfried) finds her mother’s old diary and discovers three men, Sam, Harry, and Bill, who could be her biological father. To meet her real father so he can walk her down the aisle, the bride-to-be invites the three men to her wedding.
This leads to an emotional chaos expressed through various ABBA soundtracks sung by the original cast. Eventually, the bride and groom postpone their wedding, leading to an impromptu wedding between Sam and Donna.
The sequel was released a decade later, in 2018, and was directed by Ol Parker. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is set five years after the first movie, when Sophie is pregnant with her first child. The second film also reveals that Donna has passed away, and Sophie works to reopen her mother’s hotel.
However, the movie cuts to a young Donna (Lily James) in 1979 and her romantic encounters with young Sam, Harry, and Bill. It also reveals that Sophie has an estranged grandmother, Ruby (Cher), who attends the hotel’s grand opening alongside Donna’s old friends. In the end, Sophie gives birth to a baby boy and names him Roy, while Donna’s ghost watches over them.