20 Apr – Fans of "Downton Abbey" will be happy to know that the second film has started filming since last week. The news was shared by the show itself on 19 April, which shared a promotional poster on its Twitter account and tweeted, "We're thrilled to announce that Julian Fellowes and the entire Downton cast are back for ["Downton Abbey 2"], with Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West joining!"
The film, which is set to be released on 22 December just in time for Christmas, will see the return of its original stars including Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Imelda Staunton, and Dame Maggie Smith. Bonneville also expressed elation over the second movie, sharing a photo of him with the series poster and writing, "Good to be back."
In a statement to the media, producer Gareth Neame said, "After a very challenging year with so many of us separated from family and friends, it is a huge comfort to think that better times are ahead and that next Christmas we will be reunited with the much beloved characters of Downton Abbey." No details have been released regarding the storyline of the second movie. The first film was released back in 2019 and revolves around the Crawley family and the Downton staff as they prepared for a royal visit from the king and queen of England. The storyline began a year or so after the series finale.