MAMMA MIA 3: Amanda Seyfried States Universal Will Have to Pay Cast Fairly to Move Forward with Sequel

Mamma Mia 3 Won’t Move Forward Unless Stars are Paid Fairly

Amanda Seyfried hasn’t ruled out the possibility of a third Mamma Mia! film, however, the film’s studio, Universal, would have to pay the stars correctly to move ahead.

Amanda Seyfried isn’t quite sure that Universal can afford her and her Mamma Mia! co-stars coming back for a third picture in the hugely successful franchise. With a recent oral history about Mamma Mia! which was featured in Vogue, it was made clear that Seyfried and co. would come back if a third film was put on the table. Seyfried certainly thinks that people want a third movie in the series but given the previous films’ successful box-office performances, there would need to be a fair amount of money available to pay the cast in order to move the project ahead.

Perhaps, Stellan Skarsgard had the funniest response to a third Mamma Mia! film. The well-respected actor stated that he would be in an “urn” by the time a third movie came around. He added that he would star as a pile of “ashes.”

Meryl Streep is a huge part of the Mamma Mia! film experience. She saw the Broadway show with her family around the time of 9/11 and was instantly wowed by the show’s upbeat positivity. When she was offered the first Mamma Mia! project, she chose the project even with more dramatic roles to choose from.  She, unfortunately, was written out of the musical series when her character died but a new film could still show her in flashbacks or even do something more creative than that.

2008’s Mamma Mia! was counterprogramming to The Dark Knight. It made $144 million domestically and an astonishing $550 million internationally. 10 years later, Universal released a sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again which surprisingly made $120 million domestically with only a few tepid reviews sprinkled among the positive ones. It made $281 million internationally and had Cher in the movie as well. Both films received “A-” CinemaScore grades.

While Amanda Seyfried would do a third Mamma Mia! for free, that’s not the way the business works, and she would have to be paid fairly well to participate in the potential project. Seyfried is one of the most valuable assets of these films alongside female co-stars like Streep, Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. Skarsgard, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth represent the male talent involved with the previous pictures. Lily James (Yesterday) also had a major part in the second movie in the series as a young Streep although she is not one of the cast members who would most likely come back if a third movie was made. But, hey, you never know. In due time, we will see if Universal will shell out the dough to get the cast together and the cameras rolling for a third Mamma Mia!

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