Executive producer Gareth Neame tells EW about the upcoming cinematic event that will be Downton Abbey:
“We had to do everything that all the fans wanted, but we had to do something that was fresh and original. We wanted a kind of storyline and sense of scale and production value that exceeded even the very high production values the TV show was remembered for.
“On the big screen, it just had to look a little bit more lavish and a little bit bigger and better.
“It’s a return to these really beloved characters and seeing them in new sets of circumstances and how they will deal with those, and hopefully, a good mix of the drama, comedy, and romance that had been the mainstays of it all.”
Squeee!!! We love Downton Abbey here at my house!!!
Downton Abbey will hit theaters on Sept. 20, 2019.
The hit British TV drama Downton Abbey is finally getting its own movie.
The most successful costume/period series in 40 years, Downton Abbey picked up three Golden Globe Awards and 15 Primetime Emmy Awards over its six seasons (2010-2015).
According to PEOPLE, principal cast members Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern are all returning as well as many other longtime cast members.
No word yet, though, as to whether Robert James-Collier will return as the semi-villainous gay butler, “Thomas Barrow.”
Throughout the show’s six seasons, Barrow fell in love with straight men, underwent conversion therapy in an attempt to ‘cure’ his gayness and attempted suicide. In the series finale, however, he was recommended to become the new head butler for the estate.
The TODAY Show paid a visit to Highclere Castle in north Hampshire, UK to get a first look at the upcoming film set to premiere September 20, 2019, in the United States.
The creators, cast and crew are all being very tight-lipped about any storyline or even a hint about what may be in store for the the Crawley family and the servants who worked in their country home.
Although, in the video report below, Hugh Bonneville does attempt to trick us with his own fake storyline.
Handsome Allen Leech, who plays “Tom Branson,” recently told Vanity Fair that the film will be emotional. “It’s Julian (Fellowes) — you’re going to have tears. He’s never too saccharine-sweet, so be prepared for everything.”
“It’s a big, epic story that’s definitely going to fill the big screen,” Leech continued. “That was our worry about taking the show from the small screen to the big screen. But you have Julian Fellowes, who won an Oscar for writing, and he’s done a great job with the story.”
Alastair Bruce, who serves as the historical advisor on the project recently posted on Twitter, “Last night, we left @HighclereCastle after the filming [what] we needed for the upcoming #DowntonAbbey film – we staged the last scene in the kitchen courtyard – exactly where we shot the very first @DowntonAbbey scene at the start of filming for series 1 #whatajourney.”
For a time, there were questions as to whether the delightfully droll Dame Maggie Smith would return for the film
During an appearance on the Graham Norton Show, she was asked if she was glad the show was over and she answered in the affirmative, “Oh yeah.”
“By the time we finished, [The Dowager Countess] must have been about 110. It couldn’t go on and on, it just didn’t make sense,” she continued.
And during an interview at the British Film Institute, she worried aloud if the tale had been told. “I just think it’s squeezing it dry, do you know what I mean?” she said.
Happily, though, Smith will be back and we’re already prepping ourselves for more of her drop-dead zingers.
• Scarlett Johansson has withdrawn from the upcoming film, Rub & Tug, after a backlash about the actress playing a transgender role in the movie. “I have great admiration and love for the trans community and am grateful that the conversation regarding inclusivity in Hollywood continues,” she said.
• There’s going to be a Downton Abbey movie! Squeee! According to the BBC, the “original principal cast” will begin production later this summer, the film’s producers said.
Welcome back to Downton! We’re thrilled to announce that #DowntonAbbey is coming to the big screen. Film production begins this summer. pic.twitter.com/3scMUmosic
• Republican Illinois Gov. Rauner is getting flack from conservatives for having the nerve to officiate the same-sex wedding of longtime friends. #srsly
• 80s super group ABBA just finished recording their first new tracks since 1982 and says ‘it was a fantastic experience.’
• From her upcoming album, Sweetener, Ariana Grande releases the female empowered music video for “God Is A Woman”, directed by Grammy Award®-winning director Dave Meyers.
The one-and-only Madonna offers a spoken-word cameo as ‘God’ along the way.
Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Downton Abbey stars Michelle Dockery, Hugh Bonneville and Allen Leech perform a scene from the hit series using American accents with surprising results.
The sixth and final season of Downton Abbey will premiere on ITV September 20th, and so, there’s a new appropriately melancholy trailer as the denizens of the estate prepare to head off in their separate directions.
I know it’s really just a fancy soap opera, but I love it.
Here’s hoping handsome, gay footman Thomas finds some kind of happiness before the finale.
“Downton Abbey” airs on PBS in the United States and the new season is scheduled to start on January 3, 2016.
Last January, very late to the party I’ll admit, I watched all three of the first seasons of DOWNTON ABBEY in a marathon while on flights to and from London. One episode and I understood what everyone was talking about.
The fourth season debuts tonight on PBS at 9EST/8CST. Seriously, catch up and don’t miss the new episodes. So good; so well done.
If you have an Amazon Prime membership, free streaming video of all seasons/episodes is included in your membership. Even if no Prime account, you can download one or two episodes and see if you dig it by clicking here.
