Lily James Addresses 'Mamma Mia 3' Rumors: 'I'm Desperate'

Rumors of a third Mamma Mia movie have been circulating since 2020. Judy Craymer, the producer behind the original stage production, told Daily Mail she was "meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months" amid the early days of the pandemic. "I think one day there will be another film because there's meant to be a trilogy, you see," she added.

Craymer wasn't the only one interested in another installment in the musical franchise, either. At the time, Craymer even shared plans to include the four new ABBA songs band members Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote for the group's virtual concert. Since then, the entirety of ABBA has reunited for the first time in 40 years, releasing a whole new album titled Voyage. This means there would be even more material for the creative team of the films to work with now, two years after Craymer first hinted the series was meant to be a trilogy.

While promoting her new Hulu show Pam & Tommy, Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again star Lily James chimed in on all the rumors and speculation about a third installment. "I'm desperate for it to happen," she told Screen Rant. "It was like, it didn't feel real. It was so fun just singing on the beach and on a boat. I don't know. Why isn't it happening? We all need it. It's been COVID. It's been terrible. Let's do Mamma Mia!"

"Please! But only If I'm in it," she joked. "They probably won't have me. It'll probably be like, Sophie's baby."

This isn't the first time James has stated her interest in returning to the Mamma Mia franchise. During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in 2020, Fallon asked if she would reprise her role as young Donna. “Yes, I would do 4,5,6,7,8,9,10. I’m down. Signed, sealed, delivered, I’m theirs," she said.

Despite these promising signs that fans will be heading back to Donna and Sophie's picturesque resort on a Greek Island, Mamma Mia! star Amanda Seyfried is doubtful this project will come to fruition. “Listen, every single person in that movie would say yes in a heartbeat, because we want to hang out with each other,” she told Collider. “That’s what we talked about last time, like, did we ever think that we’d end up here again on an island in Croatia?"

“So yeah, I wish there was a Mamma Mia! 3. But I’ll tell you what—I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again and I hope I’m wrong again,” she continued. “I don’t think there are enough ABBA songs to make a third movie. Because we’d have to use ‘Super Trooper’ again and we’d have to use ‘Mamma Mia’ again and have to use them in a different way.”

We'll keep our fingers crossed for more Mamma Mia movies in the future.