Downton Abbey movie official; Maggie Smith, more returning

It’s finally happening — a Downton Abbey movie is officially going into production later this year. This is a feature film that has been rumored for a long time, mostly because of the original series’ popularity for many years on ITV (and then PBS in America). It also has been nominated for more Emmys and SAG Awards than almost any other international show out there.

According to Deadline, Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, and many other familiar faces from the original show’s run will be returning — hopefully, we’ll have a chance to see many other familiar faces from the series including Mrs. Patmore, Mr. Carson, Lady Edith, and many of our other favorites from the original show. Another challenge may just be figuring out a story to tell here that merits a comeback. While we wouldn’t say that the series finale of Downton Abbey tied up every single story on the show, at the same time it did enough to tie up the story that it was a worthy ending.

In a statement discussing the movie, show executive producer Gareth Neame had the following to say:

“When the television series drew to a close it was our dream to bring the millions of global fans a movie and now, after getting many stars aligned, we are shortly to go into production. [writer Julian Fellowes’] script charms, thrills and entertains and in Brian Percival’s hands we aim to deliver everything that one would hope for as Downton comes to the big screen.”

Following this movie, the creative team of Fellowes and Neame may be moving over to their next project in The Gilded Age, a long-gestating project over at NBC that looks at the era of the Industrial Revolution in the United States. That’s something that we will have some more opportunities to discuss over the course of the coming weeks.

For now, what do you think about the idea of a Downton Abbey movie? Be sure to share right now in the attached comments!