Still feeling the void left behind by Downton Abbey since it went off the air three years ago? Well then today’s your lucky day, because the Crawleys are coming back, and to a theater near you. Focus Features has confirmed a Downton Abbey movie is in the works with the show’s creator and the original cast.
Behind the camera will be Brian Percival, who loyalists may remember directed the series pilot back in 2010. Series creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script, which will bring back the original principal cast. And this isn’t just some TV movie with limited production values, this is a major theatrical event.
The multi award-winning Downton Abbey ran for six seasons and centered on the aristocratic Crawley family and their servants at a Yorkshire country estate at the turn of the 20th century. When the show started it was the year 1912 just after the sinking of the Titanic, but it ended in 1926 as major historical events began to shift the British social heirarchy. The major cast included Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera, Penelope Wilton, and Rob James-Collier.
“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,” said producer Gareth Neame. “Julian’s 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.”
