A decade after it hauled in more than $600m at the global box office, the cast of the musical Mamma Mia will reunite for a sequel.
The vocal talents of Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth and... eh... Pierce Brosnan will return for Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again. The troupers, super and otherwise, will once again be interpreting the music of Abba, with the film set to feature songs that didn’t make it into the original.
Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, Mamma Mia proved to be a huge box office success, despite receiving a cooler reception from film critics on its release. Based on a West End stage show, the film became a bumper hit, becoming the sixth highest-grossing movie musical of all time – and winning Meryl Streep one of her two IFTAs.
The film tells the story of a young woman who invites three men from her mother’s past to the Greek island where she will soon wed in the hope of discovering which one is her father.
“The story is... urh. No film has ever had a more irrelevant story,” wrote The Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw in his review.
The New Yorker’s Anthony Lane was equally vicious, writing: “The legal definition of torture has been much aired in recent years, and I take Mamma Mia! to be a useful contribution.”
Despite the drubbing, the film still made 12 times its budget, with Meryl Streep reportedly campaigning to get a sequel off the ground for years.
Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again will be produced by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, but British filmmaker Ol Parker will take over directing duties.
Parker is best known for his work on The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again is set for release in July 2018.
