Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård and Christine Baranski are joining the cast of Mamma Mia!, Universal Pictures and Playtone’s adaptation of the popular ABBA musical. Phyllida Lloyd is directing the musical, which is being produced by Playtone and Littlestar.
The trio join Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Amanda Seyfried in the production, which shoots from June-October in London and Greece.
The story revolves around a bride-to-be (Seyfried) and her formerly rebellious mom (Streep) who raised her on a Greek island and never disclosed the identity of her father. The bride locates three men who might be her father and invites them to her wedding.
The musical features 22 ABBA songs, including “Dancing Queen,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All.”
Firth and Skarsgård play two of the three possible fathers. Baranski portrays a plastic surgery-loving party girl in her 40s who is bossy and boozy.
Producing are Playtone’s Gary Goetzman and Littlestar’s Judy Craymer. Tom Hanks, Goetzman’s partner at Playtone, and Rita Wilson are executive producing along with ABBA members and songwriters Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus.
The movie’s screenplay was written by Catherine Johnson, who wrote the show’s book.
