Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again were extremely successful pretty much everywhere. They were also apparently tons of fun to make. Maybe that’s why Meryl Streep would love to come back to the franchise if it were at all possible — despite the fact that her character technically died between the first and second films. Streep’s Donna did have some scenes in the second movie, but they were essentially flashbacks.
Streep recently spoke to Vogue, who just published an entire oral history of Mamma Mia! films, the Broadway show they were based on, and the hype surrounding the series.
“I’m up for anything,” Streep said. “I’ll have to schedule a knee scoping before we film, but if there’s an idea that excites me, I’m totally there.” And she did indeed say that if they can bring her character back to life in some way, she is totally fine with it, noting…
I told [Mamma Mia! 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.
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Craymer also talked in the piece about the reaction from fans to the choice to have Donna die in between the two films:
I was chastised on social media for killing off Meryl, but I promise I didn’t do it on purpose! She was hesitant about doing another film because she doesn’t typically do sequels. But I know she loved coming back to film her scenes for Here We Go Again! She felt the love around her and the joy of reuniting with those people, so I think that made her more open to the prospect of a third”.
Craymer said a third film could explore “what happened to Lily James’s version of Donna in those middle years” or “what happens to Donna and Sam after the first movie.” At this point we don’t know if we’ll ever get another Mamma Mia featuring Streep. But clearly there are possibilities. And Streep can currently be seen on Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.
