Third time’s a charm. Downton Abbey 3 is officially in the works from Downton creator and Oscar winner Julian Fellowes. The third film iteration of the beloved British historical drama, which follows the fictional Crawley family, will feature the return of Oscar nominee Paul Giamatti as playboy Harold Levinson.
Fresh off his Oscar-nominated turn in The Holdovers, Giamatti is set to reprise his role as Levinson, brother to Elizabeth McGovern’s Cora Grantham. Giamatti played the free-spirited Levinson in series three and four of Downton Abbey television series, which spawned the film franchise. Giamatti will be joined by Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan in new roles that are currently under wraps.
They’ll be joining the already sprawling cast of Downton Abbey, which includes McGovern, Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, and Douglas Reith.
Downton Abbey aired on PBS for six seasons and 52 episodes, including five Christmas specials, from 2010 to 2015. The first feature film, Downton Abbey, was released in 2019 and a sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era was released on Peacock in 2022. In March of 2024, The Crown‘s Imelda Staunto— who played Lady Maud Bagshaw in the first two Downton films—revealed in an interview on BBC that a third and final Downton Abbey film was in the works. Staunton’s The Crown co-star Dominic West will also be appearing in the third Downton film, reprising his role as Guy Dexter from Downton Abbey: A New Era.
Downton Abbey 3 will be produced by Fellowes, Gareth Neame, and Liz Trubridge. Simon Curtis who directed Downton Abbey: A New Era, will return to helm the followup. Fellowes will seemingly have his hands full with period pieces. Along with a third Downton Abbey film, he’s also set to begin helming the third season of HBO’s The Gilded Age. Three must be his lucky number.
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