Watch out world, there’s a new dancing queen in town. Meryl Streep spills what she really thinks about the actress cast to play her younger self in this summer’s female-feel-good-flick Mama Mia! Here We Go Again.
“I had no idea Lily James had these singing chops...She shakes the rafters. She’s amazing,” said Streep in a featurette giving a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Mama Mia sequel.
Though the sneak-peek video shows James making the world her dancefloor as confident, carefree Donna, the actress admits she was nervous to perform with the cast of A-listers. She has big shoes to fill taking on the young version of Streep’s character. James opens up in the featurette, saying, “Donna as a character is so beloved, and Meryl Streep is the best actress of all time.”
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Surprise singing skills might be the cherry on top for the London-trained actress, but she’s certainly going to need them. The first film boasted Amanda Seyfried and Meryl Streep, both well-known for lending their musical abilities to film, but the sequel will add a pop icon so legendary she only needs one name to command decades of radio dominance: the one and only Cher.
Pop goddess, fashion icon, Oscar-winning actress — one name says it all. A second featurette teases Cher portraying Donna’s mother (only three years her movie mother’s junior, Streep jokes, “Of course”). With trademark Cher go-big-or-go-home style, the character flies into the island on a helicopter, and will be taking on the Abba classic “Fernando.”
Get your boas and glitter ready, girls! Maybe we can’t all fly to Greece on a helicopter this summer, but we can all go to the movies. Mama Mia! Here We Go Again is in theaters July 20, and you can bet our popcorn is already buttered.