Um, EXCUSE ME: Who said you could do a Mamma Mia! film without Meryl Streep? No one, that’s who.
The first trailer for the sequel, aptly titled Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, dropped today, and it appears that Streep’s character Donna Sheridan has been killed.
EXCUSE ME?
The sequel, which skips between the past and the present day, goes into the backstory of how a young Donna – played by Baby Driver‘s Lily James – found herself pregnant and alone.
It opens with a pregnant Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) being told by her mum’s friends that “your mother is the bravest person we ever met,” and ostensibly diving straight into the past to find out why.
Later, Sophie talks about her mum as if she’s no longer there – and all the footage of Streep featured in the trailer is from the 2008 original.
But there is good news – and it comes in the final seconds of the trailer.
YEP, THAT’S CHER AS DONNA’S GRANDMA, RUBY SHERIDAN. And it looks like she’s here to sink a few bevvies and case drama. My queen.
But back to the Meryl Streep thing: fans are pissed, and Universal won’t confirm if her character has been killed or not. (She’s listed in the credits, for what it’s worth.)
What a great idea to make a sequel to Mamma Mia where Donna Sheridan is dead, said no one ever. https://t.co/ZWBZ7EaNYQ
— Mireia (@MimiLovesMeryl) December 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/isobeld_/status/943786591100854272
https://twitter.com/alexxarman/status/943784306627022850
Mamma Mia 2 with Cher and without Meryl Streep has me conflicted. pic.twitter.com/jHY5H1FuEj
— Ebube (@_ebubem) December 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/DaniBeBold/status/943961559172288516
There’s a middling chance Mammia Mia 2 is keeping things quiet here, and that Streep’s character is actually still alive and well…. but it’s not looking likely. Pour one out for Donna.
