‘Downton Abbey’ sequel reveals title and first look at trailer
The title of the second Downton Abbey film has been announced!
The much-anticipated sequel started shooting in England this spring, with strict Covid safety measures in place.
Based on ITV’s hit period drama series, the first Downton movie was a massive hit in 2019, grossing over $237 million worldwide.
The Downton sequel was originally meant to be released in cinemas this December, just in time for Christmas.
However, the studio revealed last month that the movie now won’t be out in 2021 after all, with the release date being pushed back to early 2022.
While the movie’s premiere is still more than six months away, we do have some new details…
We always suspected it would be called something more interesting than just Downton Abbey 2, and it was officially confirmed at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week that the title will be Downton Abbey: A New Era.
A presentation on Universal’s upcoming releases at CinemaCon also unveiled the first trailer for the film!
Deadline reports that there’s “no word so far on when the teaser will drop for the public,” but they do reveal some hints about what they saw in the trailer.
They wrote: “The teaser footage revealed today reunites us with the Crawley family and the Downton staff as preparations for an overseas journey are underway.
“Intones Jim Carter’s Mr Carson in one of the few lines of dialogue in the footage, “The British are coming.”
“There’s lots of glitz and glamour and jazz, as well as, evidently, a wedding.”
Whose wedding could it be? Our bets are on Tom Branson and Lucy, who was introduced in the first movie, played by Tuppence Middleton.
And where might this overseas visit take us? The creators had previously teased that the sequel could see the Crawleys travel to America.
The promise of “glitz and glamour and jazz” certainly suggests a trip to 1920s New York.
The fourth season of Downton Abbey introduced a pair of Lady Cora’s American relatives – her brother Harold Levinson, played by Paul Giamatti, and her mother Martha Levinson, played by Shirley MacLaine – but they were never seen again.
Executive producer Gareth Neame said last year: “I think when we had the Martha Levinson, Shirley MacLaine story, we had an idea of taking everyone over there to see the American family but it just didn’t really come to anything. So maybe for the future…”
Of course, their destination might not be America at all…
Robert Crawley actor Hugh Bonneville has joked: “I think the Crawleys go to Hawaii. I see a full landscape of drama there … a potential for a long, long vacation.”
The “entire” Downton cast will apparently be back, alongside four new faces.
Downton Abbey: A New Era will be released in cinemas around the world on Friday 18th March 2022.
In the meantime, there are still over 40 British period drama movies being released in 2021!
Downton Abbey: The Complete Collection box set is available on DVD on Amazon.