Amanda Seyfried Explains Why Fans Will Have to Wait forMamma Mia 3: 'Always Working on It'

Mar. 15, 2025

Amanda Seyfried at the premiere ofLong Bright Riverin New York City on March 5, 2025.Photo:John Nacion/WireImage

John Nacion/WireImage

Amanda Seyfriedis shedding some light on whyMamma Mia! 3hasn’t yet begun production.In a chat withThe Hollywood Reporterahead of the premiere of her limited series,Long Bright River, which she also executive produced, the actress was asked about a thirdMamma Mia!movie prompting her to joke, “Show me the money!“In all seriousness, Seyfried continued in the interview, published Friday, March 7, “ProducerJudy Craymeris always working on it, but Universal still has to releaseWicked2. The firstWickedhad to stall whenMamma Mia!2was getting made.““It’s an either/or situation with musicals,” explained Seyfried, 39. “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.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Amanda Seyfried inMamma Mia! Here We Go Again(2018).Jonathan Prime/Universal/Kobal/ShutterstockMeryl Streep,Pierce Brosnan,Colin Firth,Stellan Skarsgård,Dominic Cooper,Julie Walters,Christine Baranskiand more starred alongside Seyfried in 2008’sMamma Mia!,a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical based onABBA’s music.The film’s story revolves around Seyfried’s Sophie, a young woman living on a fictional Greek island who invites three men — one of whom she believes may be her father — to her wedding in hopes of connecting with her biological father.Seyfried and more of the film’s original cast returned forMamma Mia:! Here We Go Again(2018), which functions as both a sequel and prequel to the original movie.Lily Jamesportrayed a younger version of Streep’s character and Sophie’s mother, Donna; the movie flashes back to Donna’s encounters with Sophie’s three possible fathers as Sophie and her husband Sky (Cooper, 46) prepare to welcome their own child in the present.While nothing has been officially confirmed, Baranski, 72, toldThe Hollywood Reporterin August 2024 that Craymer, 67, was “already planning” for a third movie, adding, “She gave me the narrative plotline of how it’s going to happen. That’s all I can say!”The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!From Left: Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried inMamma Mia!(2008).Universal Pictures/Relativity Media/Littlestar/Playtone/Kobal/ShutterstockStreep, 75, toldDeadlinein May 2024 that a meeting was “imminent” regarding proposals for her own character’sreturn in a third film, despite Donna’s death.“Maybe that’s the stall. They still haven’t figured out how to bring her back from the dead,” Seyfried toldTHRin her recent interview, adding with a laugh of Streep, “From what I was told, that was her choice — so maybe it’s on her to write it.“TheEmmywinner went on to say she is sure Streep “has ideas” for how she would appear as Donna once again, calling the three-timeOscarwinner “a genius.““But I hope they figure it out,” Seyfried continued. “The one day that she was on set for the last movie was when it finally felt like we were all together again.”

Amanda Seyfriedis shedding some light on whyMamma Mia! 3hasn’t yet begun production.

In a chat withThe Hollywood Reporterahead of the premiere of her limited series,Long Bright River, which she also executive produced, the actress was asked about a thirdMamma Mia!movie prompting her to joke, “Show me the money!”

In all seriousness, Seyfried continued in the interview, published Friday, March 7, “ProducerJudy Craymeris always working on it, but Universal still has to releaseWicked2. The firstWickedhad to stall whenMamma Mia!2was getting made.”

“It’s an either/or situation with musicals,” explained Seyfried, 39. “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.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Amanda Seyfried inMamma Mia! Here We Go Again(2018).Jonathan Prime/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Jonathan Prime/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock

Meryl Streep,Pierce Brosnan,Colin Firth,Stellan Skarsgård,Dominic Cooper,Julie Walters,Christine Baranskiand more starred alongside Seyfried in 2008’sMamma Mia!,a movie adaptation of the Broadway musical based onABBA’s music.

The film’s story revolves around Seyfried’s Sophie, a young woman living on a fictional Greek island who invites three men — one of whom she believes may be her father — to her wedding in hopes of connecting with her biological father.

Seyfried and more of the film’s original cast returned forMamma Mia:! Here We Go Again(2018), which functions as both a sequel and prequel to the original movie.Lily Jamesportrayed a younger version of Streep’s character and Sophie’s mother, Donna; the movie flashes back to Donna’s encounters with Sophie’s three possible fathers as Sophie and her husband Sky (Cooper, 46) prepare to welcome their own child in the present.

While nothing has been officially confirmed, Baranski, 72, toldThe Hollywood Reporterin August 2024 that Craymer, 67, was “already planning” for a third movie, adding, “She gave me the narrative plotline of how it’s going to happen. That’s all I can say!”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

From Left: Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried inMamma Mia!(2008).Universal Pictures/Relativity Media/Littlestar/Playtone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Universal Pictures/Relativity Media/Littlestar/Playtone/Kobal/Shutterstock

Streep, 75, toldDeadlinein May 2024 that a meeting was “imminent” regarding proposals for her own character’sreturn in a third film, despite Donna’s death.

“Maybe that’s the stall. They still haven’t figured out how to bring her back from the dead,” Seyfried toldTHRin her recent interview, adding with a laugh of Streep, “From what I was told, that was her choice — so maybe it’s on her to write it.”

TheEmmywinner went on to say she is sure Streep “has ideas” for how she would appear as Donna once again, calling the three-timeOscarwinner “a genius.”

“But I hope they figure it out,” Seyfried continued. “The one day that she was on set for the last movie was when it finally felt like we were all together again.”

source: people.com