Based on the stellar songs of the legendary Abba, the first film (taken from the musical of the same name) saw bride-to-be Sophie (Seyfried) working out which of Sam (Brosnan), Harry (Firth) or Bill (Skarsgård) was her father.

The sequel will feature songs not in the 2008 original, and Cooper – who said in June that appearing in the sequel was a phone call “I’ve been waiting for for 10 years” – believes the fact it’s been almost a decade since the original speaks to the quality of the new tale.

Interviewed by Entertainment Tonight, he said: “Rather than it being forced and coming two years after the great success of the last one and just pushing out a storyline, that’s not what this has been.

“This was finally someone [thinking], ‘I’ve got it! I’ve got the key to this. I know how this can be good.’”

The original Mamma Mia! was a huge hit worldwide, raking in $610 million (approximately £470m) after being made on a $52m (£20m) budget.

Lily James is bringing some fairy-tale magic to the Mamma Mia! sequel