The gates of Downton Abbey will reopen.
Focus features announced on monday that Downton Abbey 2, a sequel on the big screen the 2019 film – which was itself a sequel to the ITV / PBS series 2011-16 – is officially underway for a Christmas release in 2021 in theaters.
Series creator Julian Fellowes “and the whole Downton cast ”returns for the film, and four new additions were featured: Hugh Dancy (Hannibal), Dominic West (The Affair), Laura Haddock (Da vinci se demone) and French actress Nathalie Baye. Their roles are supervised, as well as the details of the plot for the new movie; Fellowes will write the screenplay again, while Simon Curtis (My Week with Marilyn) will direct.
‘There’s no place like home for the holidays, and we can not imagine a better gift than to reunite with Julian, [producer] Gareth Neame and the whole Downton family in 2021 to bring the Crawleys home for their fans, ”said Peter Kujawski, chairman of Focus Features.
The success of the original Downton Abbey film – which was released in September 2019 and earned nearly $ 200 million worldwide – made a sequel something of a no-brainer. The first film follows the Crawley family and the staff of Downton Abbey as they prepare for a visit from the King and Queen of England, culminating in an elegant ball honoring the royals.
But even if most of the original Downton returning cast for the first film, Lily James was particularly absent as Robert’s troublemaker Rose Aldridge, who moved to New York during the program. At the time, Allen Leech (aka Tom Branson) said James wanted to make a cameo in the film, ‘but [Fellowes] was like, ‘There’s not enough space.’ It would be a little weird if she [randomly showed up] and was like, ‘Hello, I hear the royals are here!’ ‘
Leech did add that ‘maybe [she could do it] if there is another. We can visit her in New York! ”