Paul Giamatti Is Heading Back to ‘Downton Abbey’ for New Movie

The third installment of the movie franchise everyone’s been waiting for has finally been announced. And no, we’re not talking Dune: Messiah — it’s Downton Abbey.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new Downton Abbey flick is in the works, with franchise creator Julian Fellowes writing the script and Simon Curtis returning as director. The film will follow 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, as well as the 2019 film Downton Abbey; the original hit TV series ran between 2010 and 2015.

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The new movie is set to feature much of the original core cast, including Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern, returning as Robert and Cora Crawley, the heads of the Grantham estate. The cast features a handful of new additions as well, though none bigger than Paul Giamatti, who will reprise his role as Cora’s brother, the wealthy American playboy Harold Levinson, whom he first portrayed over a decade ago in the 2013 Downton Abbey Christmas special.

Dominic West will also be back as Guy Dexter, the character he debuted in A New Era, while newcomers include Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, and Arty Froushan. Longtime Downton Abbey denizens returning for the third movie include 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.

Notably, this third Downton Abbey film will be the first piece of franchise property not to feature Maggie Smith, who famously portrayed Robert’s mother, Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Smith, now 89, decided to exit the series after A New Era, with Violet (spoiler alert) dying at the end of the movie.

While the cast and creative team for the new Downton Abbey flick have been confirmed, no other details have been made available just yet. It’s unclear when the film plans to go into production and when it might see release, and a title hasn’t been shared either.

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