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21st Jan 2020

Downton Abbey creator confirms plans to start work on a sequel

Paul Moore

Big news for Downton Abbey fans.

Ok, we know that plans for a sequel to Downton Abbey have been discussed for quite some time now, but there’s a big issue that needs addressing.

What will the film be called?

Truth be told, we’re opting for something along the lines of 2 Downton 2 Abbey, Downton Abbey 2: Electric Boogaloo, Downtown Abbey: Shit Just Got Real, or Downton Abbey 2: The Abbey Strikes Back.

They’re all grand.

Anyway, on a far more serious note, Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes has said that he will start working on a sequel to the film once he’s finished work on his upcoming HBO drama, The Gilded Age.

When asked by Deadline when he would start writing the Downton Abbey sequel, Fellowes joked, “Give us a break, gov. Not until I’ve finished the scripts for The Gilded Age.”

For fans of Fellowes’ work, The Gilded Age is a ten-part series about the millionaire titans of New York City in the 1880s and the cast is very impressive.

The drama stars The Good Fight’s Christine Baranski, Sex and the City actress Cynthia Nixon, Brockmire’s Amanda Peet and The Plot Against America’s Morgan Spector.

This isn’t the first time that a member of the Downton Abbey production team have been optimistic about a sequel being made.

During a recent interview with Her, Downton Abbey producer Liz Trubridge said that a second film would be possible because “there are other stories to tell here”.

She said: “It’s a horrible cliché to say, but we genuinely have all become a family – we’ve been together for so long now, and it was great to come back together. There are other stories to tell here, and of course – yeah, I think we would all be up for doing another one if it was right. But right now, I just want to make sure this one is received well – and if it is, it’d be great to do another one. It’s something, I think, that we’d all love to do.”

Since being released in September, the Downton Abbey film has made $190,954,135 at the worldwide box-office, so we’re fairly confident that a sequel will be made and after reading Fellowes’s recent remarks, it seems a certainty.

For those that might need a more immediate fix of a gripping period drama, the award-winning team behind Downton are making a new show that’s set for release in 202o.

Belgravia is a historical period drama that depicts the emerging nouveau riche in British society at the start of the 19th century, including the Trenchard family, as they rub shoulders with London’s established upper classes.

However, secrets from the past threaten to emerge.

More details about that show can be found here.