Dan Stevens teases a return for Matthew in the ‘Downton Abbey’ movie

Downton Abbey star Dan Stevens has sent fans into a frenzy with a reunion photo he’s posted online.

The long-awaited Downton Abbey movie begins filming “any minute now,” with all the show’s regular cast members expected to return apart from Lily James as Lady Rose.

One Downton character we weren’t expecting to see in the film is Matthew Crawley, who was brutally killed off in 2012’s Christmas special just after Lady Mary gave birth to their baby son.

However, the possibility of an appearance suddenly looks very slightly more likely, thanks to a cheeky post from actor Dan Stevens.

The Legion star shared a photo this week with former co-stars Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) and Allen Leech (Tom Branston) having a reunion in LA.

Fuelling speculation even further, he commented: “Should Matthew have a mustache for the #DowntonAbbeyMovie…? Vote below…”

Now, we don’t seriously expect the movie to bring Matthew back from the dead, but it’s not implausible for him to show up in a flashback scene or a dream sequence, perhaps to reassure Lady Mary if she’s feeling guilty about moving on with new husband Henry Talbot or if she’s having insecurities about being a good mother to son George.

As such a key part of the original cast, it’d be lovely to see Dan Stevens appear in some capacity.

Directed by Brian Percival (The Book Thief, North & South), the film’s script has been written by Downton creator Julian Fellowes.

Downton Abbey: The Complete Collection is available to buy now.

The Downton Abbey movie will be released in cinemas in early 2019.