Is ABBA a Band in the Mamma Mia! Universe?

When Ken Jennings (of Jeopardy! championship fame) took to Twitter to pose the question of ABBA existing in the Mamma Mia! world, fans began to question everything they knew about the movie. With the release of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again quickly approaching, everyone is turning back to the original movie to prepare.

The idea, though, that ABBA is a real band that exists in this fictional world and this little island in Greece just loves their music, is almost more entertaining than it coming from their own emotional arcs. With jukebox musicals, a lot of the time it’s established where the songs are coming from. For instance, Rock of Ages made it clear that these people are rockstars and that these songs, while not their own in reality, were coming from their desire to be famous musicians.

Mamma Mia! never really bothered to address the issue, and we never really asked, but Jennings is now flipping everything on its head.

So, is there an entire world out there that they could have chosen from? Did Donna just cover ABBA songs while she was singing and bring her record to the island with her, and it’s just the only music they have to listen to? Ken went on to ask his Twitter followers their takes on the Mamma Mia! Cinematic Universe.

Will there be more of an addition to the “MMCU,” as Jennings calls it? Or is this just going to be a fan theory that we all cling to with no real answers? To be honest, the idea that these characters just really love ABBA makes Mamma Mia! that much crazier. Hopefully Donna just left her legacy on the island, leaving behind her vinyls of ABBA singing all their disco-loving hits.

(image: Universal)

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Rachel Leishman

Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.

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