The Crawley family – or more likely their trusty staff – will open up the doors to Downton Abbey for a return to the big screen this week.
The sequel to the 2019 film reunites the main cast members including Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Joanne Froggatt. Dame Maggie Smith is also back as the Dowager Countess of Grantham, with more witty quips as well as surprise revelations.
Downton: A New Era is in cinemas from Friday with double the decadence and drama. Here’s all you need to know...
The Plot
Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, is effectively in charge of the household and ready to embrace a new era at Downton.
While in the first film, the Crawleys welcomed King George V and HRH Queen Mary, in the sequel it’s Hollywood royalty who visit.
Lady Mary hires out the house to a movie crew shooting a silent picture.
As Lesley Nichol, playing cook Mrs Patmore, puts it: “The house gets invaded by people, equipment and glamour!”
But while the silent picture is being filmed, disaster strikes when the first “talkie” is released, forcing the cast and crew to modernise their outdated film ... meaning Lady Mary takes on a surprising new role.
Despite the Downton drama, not all of the sequel’s action is restricted to the house. At the start of the movie, Violet announces she has inherited a villa in France from a mysterious old flame. Hugh Bonneville, as Lord Grantham, says: “Going to France to explore this inheritance opens a whole can of worms.”
Lady Cora, played by Elizabeth McGovern, reveals some startling secrets of her own.
From Highclere to the Riviera
With the new holiday home revelations, some of the family set sail on a jaunt to the south of France.
So as well as Highclere Castle in Hampshire, cinema-goers will be treated to glorious scenes from the Riviera.
But we could have easily been treated to Bognor Regis views instead.
Covid almost forced filming to be moved to the West Sussex seaside town, according to producer Gareth Neame.
He says: “There was a real risk we might start a film that couldn’t be completed. We had some very forthright conversations.
“We even had a back-up plan that involved shooting the whole French story here in Britain... in Bognor.”
The use of private jets to keep cast and crew in bubbles meant the plan was never implemented. Instead, they filmed at the Villa Rocabella in Le Pradet, close to Toulon.
And the joie de vivre of the French clearly rubs off on the Brits abroad.
Elizabeth McGovern says: “It was a way to have every character open up because they’re in this more relaxed environment and things happen that wouldn’t necessarily happen back at Highclere Castle.
“Cora shares a secret that she’s been harbouring for a really long time, and Robert is losing his stiff upper lip.”
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New Stars
Hannibal star Hugh Dancy stars in Downton: A New Era as movie director Jack Barber.
The 46-year-old played FBI Special Agent Will Graham in NBC’s Hannibal and off-screen is married to Homeland star Claire Danes.
The leading stars of Jack Barber’s picture are Guy Dexter and Myrna Dalgleish, played by Dominic West and Laura Haddock.
Dominic is well known to audiences, having appeared in US dramas The Wire and The Affair. He also received a BAFTA for his role as serial killer Fred West in ITV drama Appropriate Adult.
Laura previously had roles in Upstairs Downstairs, The Musketeers and as Alison in The Inbetweeners movie.
Of her character, Laura says: “Myrna just stirs the pot. She’s very, very different energy – a very different character to anybody else in the film.
“She’s a bit of an anomaly. She just bowls in with unapologetic energy. Myrna’s a complete diva.”
French actress Nathalie Baye, 73, will play an old friend of Violet.
Downstairs Going On
Despite the Crawleys hobnobbing with French aristocrats and Hollywood types, the real action in Downton: A New Era won’t necessarily involve the family.
In Downton Abbey: Behind The Lens, a digital series featuring interviews with cast members, Michelle Dockery reveals: “It’s below stairs where there’s more happening, so it was really interesting to have that energy upstairs.”
And it certainly looks like Thomas Barrow will play a part in the downstairs drama.
In the last film, fans saw butler Thomas, played by Rob James-Collier, finally coming to terms with his sexuality. The new movie’s trailer hints at romance for him.
Romance
The first film ended with Tom Branson (Allen Leech) finding love with maid Lucy.
And in the sequel, their lavish society wedding is held.
Lucy is played by Tuppence Middleton, who was recently seen in the ITV drama Our House.
While Downton’s female staff are giddy at the arrival of movie star Guy Dexter, it’s butler Barrow who shares some chemistry with Guy.
And upstairs, married Lady Mary enjoys a flirtation with the dashing Jack Barber. Could it become something more?
Matthew Goode, who plays Lady Mary’s second husband, Henry Talbot, does not appear in the new film. The Crown actor didn’t have much of a role in the first movie either, only appearing late on after being away on business.
This time, the actor was too busy working on The Offer, a US drama series based on the making of hit film The Godfather.
Off-screen, Laura Carmichael, who plays Edith, and Michael Fox, who plays footman Andrew Parker, have been a couple since 2016. They first met two years previously, when Michael joined the cast.
The movie is directed by Lady Grantham actress Elizabeth McGovern’s husband, Simon Curtis.
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