'Big Little Lies' Fans Have A 'Mamma Mia' Crossover Theory That Will Make Your Day
Big Little Lies is officially back for Season 2 and it's better than ever. The fact that it's better is largely in part thanks to one key addition to the cast of fierce women: Meryl Streep. This season, Streep as joined the series as Mary Louise, a woman who's grieving (and questioning the circumstances around) her son's death from last season. But, as audiences know, Streep has a long and storied history in movies and TV, and she has plenty of iconic characters under her belt. With so many characters, it would make sense that some of them have interacted in the great fictional universe. Now there's a theory that Mary Louise may be the same character as another one of Streep's other roles. This Big Little Lies and Mamma Mia crossover theory will low-key make your day.
On Big Little Lies, Streep's character Mary Louise has moved to Monterey after her son Perry died at the end of Season 1. Perry is played by Alexander Skarsgård, who won an Emmy last year for his portrayal of the character. Streep likely won't get to interact with him this season since he's already passed away on the show, but audiences are seeing plenty of him in flashbacks and dream sequences.
This isn't the only project that Streep has shared with a Skarsgård. She also starred in the 2008 movie musical Mamma Mia alongside Alexander's dad Stellan Skarsgård. Because of that Skarsgård connection, Twitter user @isteintraum thinks that Big Little Lies and Mamma Mia might be connected by character genetics. They tweeted, "If Meryl Streep's son is Alexander Skarsgård I believe we finally have the answer to who the real dad is in Mamma Mia."
In Mamma Mia, Streep plays Donna, a woman who raised her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) alone in Greece. As Sophie plans her wedding, she invites the three men who could possibly be her father, who are each played by Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård. So, @isteintraum has pointed out since Streep is Alexander Skarsgård's mom on Big Little Lies and Stellan Skarsgård is Alexander's dad, then Stellan's Mamma Mia character Bill Anderson must also be the father of Streep's other fictional child, Sophie.
After @isteintraum's fans went nuts over the implications of this crossover. This could mean that Meryl is the matriarch of one big cinematic family. Twitter user @zoe_samuel asked, “Does... does this mean that Amanda Seyfried is Alexander Skarsgård's sister? Is this why they have the same initials?”
A lot fans on Twitter showed their full support for this crossover hypothesis, and were also happy to finally have a (sort of) definitive answer to the question of who Sophie's dad is.
If there truly is a connection between Big Little Lies and Mamma Mia, then fans can hope for the ultimate crossover event: a Big Little Lies musical episode. Streep has already shown that she has the musical chops for it, so maybe audiences will get to see a musical family reunion. It's unlikely to happen, but fans can dream, right?
Big Little Lies Season 2 continues on Sunday, June 16 at 9 P.M. ET on HBO.
