Managing to capture all the magic and melodrama of the beloved series, the Downton Abbey movie which was set in 1927, saw the Granthams bracing themselves for a royal visit to Downton by King George V and Queen Mary. With their aristocratic way of life gradually fading away due to the underlying societal changes after World War I, the family experienced drama on all fronts. The servants were under siege by the King’s household and having to defend their honour, Barrow was scandalously arrested and Lady Violet learnt that her cousin plans to leave The Granby Estate to her maid instead of its rightful heir. As the movie drew to a close, many of the storylines were left (purposely?) open-ended, leaving our minds burning with questions such as: Did Edith’s baby arrive safely? How is Mary handling the running of the estate on her own? Will Daisy and Andy marry? Will Tom marry Lucy and inherit The Granby Estate?
So imagine our utter joy when Hugh Bonneville (that’s Lord Grantham to us) suggested that production for the movie sequel could be underway soon. On a recent UK radio show appearance, he revealed that he has seen a script for the sequel and there is “certainly the intention” to make it – once the cast and crew are vaccinated. With escapism and fantasy being our two saviours in an otherwise dull existence of late, he echoed our exact sentiments stating, “We would love to do it, we are desperate to do it, and I think it’s the sort of pleasurable release of a movie like the first one was, that audiences would enjoy after all of this mess we have been through.” Shortly after the first film was released, producer Gareth Neame confirmed that a sequel is in the pipeline and series creator Julian Fellows has previously stated, “For me now to say, ‘Absolutely, definitely this is it, there will never be another film,’ I would just be foolish.”
The tantalising thoughts of decadent 1920’s flapper dresses with string pearls, feather boas, and cloche hats fueling the razzle-dazzle of the society balls, decadent garden picnics underneath the graceful arching branches of the weeping willow trees, romances which shake up societal norms, and of course the never ending upstairs-downstairs drama. If you ask us, production can’t start soon enough.
Photos: Instagram
