Downton Abbey 3 in Production With Paul Giamatti Reprising His Role From the Series
It's time to break out your finest china.
A third Downton Abbey movie is in the works, with Paul Giamatti reprising his role from the popular period drama alongside several familiar faces and cast newcomers.
Universal Pictures, Focus Features, and Carnival Films have rung the butler's bell and called attention to announce that a third Downton Abbey film is in production, with the help of Downton creator Julian Fellowes, who is writing the script, as well as Simon Curtis, who returns to direct after helming 2022's Downton Abbey: A New Era.
Focus Features and Carnival Films are thrilled to announce the third film in the beloved Downton Abbey franchise. More information: https://t.co/nupZ9LkeXd pic.twitter.com/cRFH4SpOsb— Downton Abbey (@DowntonAbbey) May 13, 2024
The movie will bring back Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, 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.
Giamatti will also be rubbing shoulders with this group once more as he reprises his role as Cora Grantham's brother, Harold Levinson, alongside Dominic West, who is returning as Guy Dexter. They also join several newcomers to the cast, including Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, and Arty Froushan.
The Downton Abbey franchise launched in 2010 when the first series aired in the UK. It has spawned six seasons (available to stream on Netflix) and two feature films — one released in 2019 as a continuation of the series and a sequel that arrived in theaters in 2022 and received mostly positive reviews from critics.
IGN's review of Downton Abbey: A New Era called it a "good" addition to the franchise but warned audiences that it "starts out as a wistful return to the familiar before shedding its skin," going from "funny and charming to jaw-droppingly grim at the drop of a hat — a wild tonal whiplash that's absolutely worth a watch."
Fellowes joined Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge on the producing team for that film, and the same trio will be back for the newly announced third installment.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
