‘Downton Abbey’ Returning for a Second Movie: Who’s Coming Back?

A second 'Downton Abbey' movie will be released this winter — get the details

As Lady Crawley says, there’s never a dull moment! Downton Abbey 2 is officially in the works, and the film is coming sooner than you’d think.

“We’re thrilled to announce that Julian Fellowes and the entire Downton cast are back for #DowntonAbbey2,” the official Downton Abbey Twitter account wrote in a statement on Monday, April 19. “See the film in theaters this Christmas.”

Downton Abbey follows the lives of the Crawley family and their staff in the English countryside in the early 1900s. The PBS series’ original creator, Julian Fellowes, will return to write the screenplay for the second film, while Simon Curtis will join the team to direct. The sequel is currently in production and is set to be released on December 22, 2021.

The show’s entire principal cast, including Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, Michelle Dockery and Hugh Bonneville, will reprise their beloved roles while Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West will join the fun for the first time — though there’s no telling what their ranks in the household may be.

Bonneville, 57, who plays patriarch Robert Crawley on Downton Abbey, shared his excitement for his characters’ return with a masked-up selfie on Monday.

“Good to be back. #DowntonAbbey2,” he wrote, holding up two fingers as he stood in front of a poster from the series.

Highclere Castle, the filming location for the fictional Downton Abbey, also shared their excitement via Twitter.

“Great to have the crew and cast back here,” the castle’s official account wrote.

The first movie, which followed the characters of the luxurious estate as they prepared for a visit from the King and Queen of England, was released in September 2019 and earned more than $193 million worldwide.

The original Downton Abbey series ran from September 2010 to December 2015 on PBS, receiving three Golden Globe Awards and 15 Primetime Emmy Awards over the course of its airing.

Michelle Dockery, who plays Lady Mary Crawley, revealed exclusively to Us Weekly in December 2017 that she had no expectations for her character’s story after the show ended.

“[Fellowes] is the one with the pen,” the actress, 39, said. “But the rumors [of a film] keep continuing and I think it’s only a positive sign that people aren’t quite done with it.”

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