Downton Abbey: A New Era is in cinema’s April 29th 2022. Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming sequel.
What’s the film about?
With the trailer already out, it seems the cliffhanger of the previous 2019 film with Dame Maggie Smith’s Dowager sharing she was dying.
In the trailer, the Dowager is seen telling her family, “Years ago before you were born, I met a man. And now I’ve come into possession of a villa in the south of France.
“And with that, I will say goodnight and leave you to discuss my mysterious past,” the countess adds at the end of the trailer.
It seems the Crawley family are to go off on holiday to the fancy establishment. We will see Tom Branson remarrying to Lucy Smith and perhaps a second nuptials could be on the cards between Daisy and Andy — but we’ll have to see. It’s all very hush hush, you know.
What year is Downtown Abbey: A New Era set in?
The ‘new era’ is thought to be the end of the 1920s and beginning of 1930s. Creator Julian Fellowes explained to Forbes, saying, “It’s really a new era. The further the ‘20s went along, the more the world was changing in so many ways.
“Everything from entertainment to transport was really different by the end of the ‘20s. That’s what we’re referring to.”
He adds, saying, “As we know from the last film, Mary may not be the titular head of the household, but she is effectively running the show. We take that further.
“We’re trying to mark the change — the fact that Crawleys of Downton are nearly in the 1930s, which is merely the beginning of the modern world.”
But have no fear — it’s a self-confessed ‘feel-good’ Downtown Abbey movie.
Creator Julian Fellowes said, “I like the idea that people go into the movie and have a great two hours and then go out to have dinner. That seems to me to be a good thing. If we are useful for cheering people up and giving them an easy time of it, that doesn’t bother me.”
Actor Jim Carson, who plays the ever-loyal Mr Carson called the script “very funny”.
“If you promise not to tell anyone, I’ll let you know that we’ve seen a script… The script for a second film is there. We’ve seen it, it’s very funny!” he told This Morning. “It’s got all the same characters in, all the regular characters.”
Who’s in the cast?
The new Downtown Abbey film will feature the return of original cast members Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager of Countess, Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, Jim Carter as Mr Carson, Laura Carmichael as Lady Edith Crawley, Michelle Dockery as Mary Crawley, Elizabeth McGovern as the Countess of Grantham, Lesley Nichol as Mrs Patmore and Sophie McShera playing Daisy.
Allen Leech will return as Tom Branson, with Michael Fox back as Andy, Harry Hadden-Paton as Bertie Pelham, and Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Smith, who debuted in the first film.
New images have shown Laura Haddock as Myrna Dalgleish — but very little has been disclosed about her character. Fellow new stars also include Hugh Dancy, Dominic West and Nathalie Baye, who is said to be playing an old friend of Violet who comes to visit her.
