The creator of Mamma Mia! has revealed her ambitions for a new film.
After a decade of trying to persuade Abba to give her the rights to its songs, Judy Craymer’s musical premiered on the West End in 1999 and has since been watched by over 65 million people worldwide.
Then, in 2008, a film based on her work was published, and it was an instant success.
Mamma Mia! earned $611 million (£503,959 million) and was the sixth highest-grossing picture of that year, starring Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stella Skarsgard, Dominic Cooper, Christine Baranski, and Julie Walters.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, featuring Lily James, was released a decade later.
Judy then revealed in 2020 that a third feature was in the works, but little has been spoken about it since.
However, she has recently revealed further information.
Judy was questioned about where development for the next film is presently at during a recent Q&A session for the upcoming ITV talent show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, which will seek for two stars to portray the lead parts of Sophie and Sky in the musical in London.
‘Well, yes very much I do want to do a third film and I hope it will happen,’ she said.
‘But everything with Mamma Mia takes a long time.
‘It took many years for it to happen for television, but I do hope so.’
She also mentioned that Alan Carr, one of the future reality show’s judges, had expressed interest in appearing.
‘He’s been sending me cash on a weekly basis,’ she joked, before he expressed a desire to play a ‘camp waiter’ in the next movie.
‘Surely you can write that in!’ he said.
He added: ‘I’m not getting any younger.’
Many of the movie’s stars have also said over the years that they’d be keen to return, with Amanda once declaring: ‘I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third Mamma Mia!’
Around the same time Judy said that if she ‘had her way’ the third movie would ‘be in the can already’ and there ‘had to’ be another movie because people ‘want it.
However, in 2020, she stated that the epidemic had caused delays in the sequel’s development.
In an interview with BBC Two’s Newsnight in May, Abba member Björn Ulvaeus said he would need to be ‘convinced’ by a solid story, but he was also concerned about whether there would be enough music from the band to utilise after two films.
Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream, hosted by Zoe Ball, will be judged by Alan, Jessie Ware, Amber Riley, and Samantha Barks.
The candidates will be coached by guest industry stars in innovative workshops and assessed by a panel of well-known industry specialists in both music and theatre.
Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream launches on Sunday October 22 at 6pm on ITV1.
