That movie garnered high praise from critics—and an astounding $194 million in box office grosses worldwide—so it was no surprise that a Downton Abbey sequel got the green light, going into production in April 2021 as the COVID-19 pandemic began to slowly subside. But what will a second Downton Abbey film have in store for everyone’s favorite British aristocrats, when will it take place, which cast members are returning, and are any new characters joining the fray? Here’s everything we know about Downton Abbey 2, a.k.a. Downtown Abbey: A New Era.
Is there a Downton Abbey 2 trailer?
Focus Features shared the first teaser for Downton Abbey: A New Era on Nov. 10, 2021. The 15-second preview, scored to Downton’s sumptuous theme music, features swooping shots of the titular abbey, as well as glimpses of Tom Branson’s wedding! A longer teaser trailer then debut in theaters the weekend of Nov. 12, playing ahead of another Focus Features release, director Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast, starring Jamie Dornan and Caitriona Balfe.
When will Downton Abbey 2 be released?
After Focus Features’ Twitter account promised that Downton Abbey 2 would be “in theaters Christmas 2021,” the film received an official theatrical release date of December 22, 2021. However, that has been pushed back due to the pandemic on at least a couple occasions; the new official release date for Downton Abbey: A New Era is May 20, 2022.
Who will be in the Downton Abbey sequel cast?
Focus Features confirmed in an April 2021 tweet that “the entire Downton cast” would be returning for Downton Abbey 2. In November 2021, when the film’s first teaser trailer was released, PEOPLE also reported that “Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Laura Carmichael and Jim Carter” would all be reprising their Downton roles in the sequel. We also know that Michelle Dockery returns to play the widowed and remarried Lady Mary Talbot (née Crawley), as does TomCullen in his role as Lord Gillingham. Additionally, Tuppence Middleton, who portrayed Lucy Smith in the first film, confirmed on Twitter that she’ll be returning for the sequel. Joining the cast for the sequel will be Downton Abbey newcomers Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West. No details have been released on who the new cast members will be playing, including whether they’ll be rubbing elbows with the affluent Crawleys or scrubbing pots with the staff in the lower levels of the sprawling estate.
How will Downton Abbey 2 be released?
Although many feature films in 2020 and 2021 shifted to either a virtual or hybrid release model due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with new films releasing exclusively online or simultaneously online and in theaters, Downton Abbey 2 is currently slated only for a theatrical release in March 2022. No information has been given which would hint at a simultaneous streaming release plan, although in a world of ever-shifting release schedules and methods, anything is possible.
Did we know a Downton Abbey sequel was happening?
Even before the first Downton Abbey film hit theaters, rumors were buzzing about a potential sequel. Before the film’s release in September of 2019, producer Gareth Neame told The Hollywood Reporterthat if the film did well, they’d be happy to make a sequel. “We’ve got the beginnings of ideas of what we might do next, said Neame, “if that would happen.” After the film’s release, the Downton Abbey team immediately began tossing around possibilities for a sequel. Speaking to Entertainment Weeklyshortly after the film’s release, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes said it would likely follow in the footsteps of the series and the first film, albeit with a bit of a time jump. “We would let a little bit of time go by for things to have resolved themselves,” he said, speaking of the gap between the end of the first movie and the beginning of the second, “but I don’t think we would set off in a different direction.” As for the cast, many have long been on board for another Downton Abbey outing. “All the cast I spoke to would love to do another one,” Rob James-Collier said to EWin 2019. “It’s no secret [why] we’ve kept altogether, such a big cast for so long — because we love doing this job, we love doing what we do. So I would be thrilled if they wanted me back and I would do it in a heartbeat.” That sentiment didn’t change in the following years, with Bonneville saying in an appearance on BBC Radio 2’s “The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show” in early 2021, “We would love to do it, we are desperate to do it, and I think it’s the sort of pleasurable release of a movie like the first one was, that audiences would enjoy after all of this mess we have been through.”
What happened in the first Downton Abbey movie?
Set in 1927, around a year and a half after the conclusion of the television series, the first Downton Abbey film picked up with the Crawley family as they learned that King George V (Simon Jones) and Queen Mary (Geraldine James) would be paying a visit to Downton Abbey as part of a royal tour. Included as part of the royal entourage are Maud, Lady Bagshaw (Imelda Staunton), lady-in-waiting for Queen Mary, and her maid, Lucy Smith. Violet finds Maud’s presence bothersome, since she believes as the widow of Maud’s closest relative, she should inherit Maud’s estate. While the Crawley family flutters about making sure the estate is ready to receive the royal party – including Lady Mary persuading Mr. Carson to come out of retirement and resume the station of head butler during the visit, a request that the Crawleys’ current head butler, Thomas Barrow, finds extremely irritating – the staff of Downton Abbey butts heads with the staff of the royal household, who have been sent ahead in anticipation of the visit. A number of dramatic confrontations ensues, from Anna blackmailing the Queen’s Royal Dresser into altering a dress for Lady Edith; Barrow forming a friendship which blossoms into romance with the King’s Royal Dresser, Richard Ellis (Max Brown); and the entire Downton staff staging a quiet coup to take back control of the momentous dinner. Meanwhile, Isobel susses out that Lucy Smith is actually Maud’s illegitimate daughter, which is why Maud has made Lucy her heir instead of Violet. After Maud and Violet clear the air, Violet informs Mary that she’s terminally ill, although she doesn’t give many more details about how much longer she may have to live. Lucy also forms a romantic attachment to Tom Branson, who earlier in the film foils an assassination attempt on the King. Once Violet learns of Maud’s relationship to Lucy, she immediately begins conspiring to unite their two households in marriage through Lucy and Tom. As the film closes and as the King and Queen praise Downton Abbey and the Crawleys celebrate yet another successful event, Edith is overjoyed to learn that her husband will not need to travel abroad – having recently announced her pregnancy–while Daisy begins planning her marriage to Andy.
What will Downton Abbey 2 be about?
Fellowes told PEOPLE in November 2021 that, true to its subtitle, Downton Abbey 2 is “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.” He also called the new chapter an “unashamedly feel-good movie” that begins at the point the first DowntonAbbey movie ended. “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,” Fellowes continued. “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.” Based on the ending of the first film, however, there are several plot lines that seem ripe for sequel exploration. Obviously, there is the looming illness of Violet Crawley, but there is also the wedding of Daisy and Andy, Edith’s new baby and the possibility for Thomas Barrow to finally have a healthy relationship. But of course, this being Downton Abbey, we’re sure there will also be plenty more twists and turns that none of us will see coming. Impatient for Downton Abbey 2? You’ll love these shows like The Crown.
