Meryl Streep in 'Mamma Mia 2': Creator Talks That Major Decision About Donna!

SPOILER ALERT - don’t continue reading if you don’t want to read what happens in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which is now in theaters!

Creator of the musical and the movies, Judy Craymer, is speaking to THR about the choice to “kill off” Donna, the character played by Meryl Streep.

“Well, she just wasn’t good enough, you know? [Laughs],” Judy joked about Meryl‘s acting ability. “To be honest, she was always a part of it. Would we have done another film without her? She was so glorious in the first movie and has so much affection for Mamma Mia! So, she was always a part of a conversation of another film. I think for her, it was a matter of what and how, and we also did chat occasionally about it. It was a matter of the right script.”

Judy continued, “Also, Meryl likes to conquer new things and she had played Donna Sheridan and been singing nine or so ABBA songs in the first movie. I think she felt that she liked the idea of leaving this to the younger ones and she wanted to be involved, but she wasn’t gonna take on such a big role. So, I think that helped explore the emotional heft of what [director and co-writer] Ol Parker wrote in the fact that it’s a story of life and marriage and loss and love, but also it’s very important to Meryl what song she does. If she was gonna sing, ‘My Love, My Life’ is a very, very strong song like ‘The Winner Takes It All.’ It’s a huge story telling song, it’s got a big emotional punch and, of course, she has this incredible voice. So, I think there were many decisions there, but it came very much from Meryl being a part of all of them. “