Paul Feig to Direct ‘Mamma Mia! 3’

It’s been nearly eight years since “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” hit theaters, and the franchise’s fans — there are plenty — are still waiting for a third musical romp. However, after years of speculation, a few key pieces of the puzzle are finally coming into focus.

In a recent interview promoting “The Testament of Ann Lee,” director Mina Fastvold tells Amanda Seyfried that she’d love to direct “Mamma Mia! 3,” only for the actress to interrupt and confirm that her “Housemaid” director, Paul Feig, already has the job.

So yes, Feig is directing “Mamma Mia! 3,” and that’s despite a packed schedule which includes shooting “The Housemaid 2” this spring and working on “A Simple Favor 3.” After a few straight-to-streaming duds, the man is suddenly on a roll.

Despite consistent chatter and cast enthusiasm, Universal Pictures appears to have finally greenlit “Mamma Mia! 3,” though there’s still no word on a production start date. That said, everyone involved seems eager to see it happen.

Lead star Seyfried — who played Sophie in both prior films — remains one of the movie’s most vocal champions. Christine Baranski has teased her involvement and said she’s heard early plot ideas, and actor Stellan Skarsgård has recently suggested that Meryl Streep — whose character Donna died in the second film — could still find a way back into the story.

Seyfried has even publicly floated the idea of Sabrina Carpenter and Sydney Sweeney joining the project — potentially in roles connected to Sophie’s family — though nothing has been confirmed.

The lesson here is that you should probably never count Feig out. He’s the director of such hits as “Bridesmaids,” “The Heat,” “A Simple Favor,” and “Spy,” and prior to this December’s “The Housemaid,” which has so far racked up $200M worldwide, it had been almost a decade since he last had a hit. His last four efforts — “Last Christmas,” “The School for Good and Evil,” “Jackpot,” and “Another Simple Favor” — were all panned, with some relegated straight to streaming. But “The Housemaid” has given him a much-needed lifeline.