Much talk has already come down the pipeline about the late, great Dame Maggie Smith as Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale prepares to hit the 2025 movie release schedule. Creator Julian Fellowes worked with the onscreen icon for years before Downton Abbey 2 said goodbye to the Dowager Countess, and he has revealed the new movie will pay tribute to the actress in two notable ways.
First, if you can recall the events of the last movie The New Era, it ended with the Dowager Countess ensuring her son that his father was absolutely his father and he was not the result of an affair. Shortly thereafter, the Dowager Countess passed away. The movie actually ended on a shot of a new portrait of Violet in the entry hall, and that her spirit (and one notable portrait) will very much remain when The Grand Finale unveils its story with the fans that have stuck with it for years.
