Julian Fellowes has been told to start writing a second ‘Downton’ movie

The Downton Abbey bosses are reportedly pressing ahead with plans for a sequel already.

Based on ITV’s hit period drama series, the long-awaited Downton film was released last month and is playing in cinemas around the world now.

The movie topped the box office in the UK and the US, and apparently it’s made a total of $135.4 million (£110 million) worldwide so far.

Not bad for a film that only cost $20 million (£16 million) to make!

An insider told British newspaper The Sun this week: “Downton’s popularity as a film has been phenomenal. It took £60million in America alone and has been a roaring success.”

They added: “[Downton creator] Julian [Fellowes] and the team are over the moon with how it played out. No one expected it would be this big.”

So big, in fact, that a sequel is being developed…

The insider revealed: “The commercial viability of a second film is now a dead cert, so Julian has been told to start putting pen to paper on the follow-up.”

We’ll have to wait to find out which cast members will return, but the Downton team aren’t ruling out a miraculous recovery for Maggie Smith’s character, following Lady Violet’s shocking revelation at the end of the first movie.

The Downton Abbey movie is available to pre-order on DVD on Amazon.