Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

Take a moment here, there's no going back. if you're sure and you don't mind spoilers then you've come to the right place.

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has caused much excitement since it was announced, and now that's it's released in cinemas it's about to get even more crazy.

When the first trailer dropped fans wondered where Meryl Streep was, then in the second trailer she cropped up in flashbacks - she was on posters and the soundtrack.

That didn't stop the unease - was Donna dead?

Last chance here.

Yes, as the trailer implied Donna is dead in Mamma Mia 2. Goodbye Donna Sheridan, her legacy lives on in her hotel.

What happens to Donna in Mamma Mia 2?

Meryl Streep in the first movie (

Image:

Universal Pictures)

The film begins with Sophie getting ready to reopen the hotel, now called Bella Donna, there's photos of her mum everywhere and it's fairly obvious where it's going.

Sophie talks to the hotel manager (Andy Garcia) and it's confirmed - Donna is dead.

Her cause of death is never explained or really even hinted at.

The first we see of Donna she's a young thing, played by Lily James.

We learn that Donna graduated form Oxford and headed to Greece to the island of Kalokairi, which is where we found her in the first movie.

If you're looking for answers as to how she died, there aren't any, but that just fits with the whole Mamma Mia movie vibe though. Sophie wants to find out who her dad is in the first movie, but in the end she just lets all three become her dad. Here Donna dies - a pretty serious thing - but hey, how it happens isn't what matters, it's just how they can all come together in the wake of it.

Don't worry though you do get to see Donna near the end of the movie in an emotional scene with the rest of the cast. We won't spoil how.

Meryl Streep returns... (

Image:

Universal Pictures)

So why did it happen?

Meryl Streep was fine with the decision to kill off the main character of the first movie, and director Ol Parker says it wasn't down to schedules.

"If it had worked out that Meryl was going to be the lead for the whole thing, then they would have waited for a time when Meryl could be the lead for the whole thing," he told Vulture .

For Parker it was about finding the best story and this was it.

Why Godfather II influenced Mamma Mia

Richard Curtis is the one to blame here, and his daughter Scarlett...and The Godfather Part II.

Parker got an email from Curtis one day out of the blue asking: "Random question: do you like ABBA?"

Parker thought he was being invited to dinner with the Swedish pop group, but instead he was being asked to write a sequel.

Curtis already had ideas and his daughter had suggested it should be Godfather II meaning it was a prequel really. Cue an exploration of Donna's backstory.

In Parker's mind Donna had to die.

Meryl Streep looks better than Robert de Niro though (

Image:

Universal Pictures)

"I think it's the most meaningful and emotional and impactful way to tell that story and this was my suggestion," he said.

Meryl was told and apparently was "thrilled".

The idea was sorted - Lily James essentially became Robert de Niro, Amanda Seyfried is Al Pacino.

As to why Donna slept with all three men, for Parker he needed different reasons.

Harry was comedic and charming, Sam was a love story and Bill was to help her and to pick her back up.

Lily James was originally on the publicity tour for Baby Driver when Parker was looking for his young Donna, but he waited, sure it had to be her.

He "knew it on a handshake."