Downton Abbey A New Era: Release date, trailers and latest news
Beloved period drama Downton Abbey makes its return for a second cinematic outing
There has been a longer wait than expected, but it is almost time to return to the Crawley family and their employees.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is finally on its way to cinemas and the trailers have teased plot details for the sequel.
The trailer sees the Downton estate being taken over by actors and crew members as the Crawleys escape to the South of France, to a villa that was left to Lady Violet by a mysterious man.
Universal previously hinted at the release of the new trailer with a dazzling poster giving fans a look at the movie’s enormous cast.
Alongside returning faces including the Crawley sisters, Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) and Lady Edith (Laura Carmichael), there will be a slate of new additions to the cast including Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye and Dominic West (The Pursuit of Love).
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Read on for everything you need to know about the second Downton Abbey: A New Era.
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Downton Abbey: A New Era release date
Downton Abbey: A New Era will be released in UK cinemas on Friday 29th April 2022.
The sequel comes almost three years following the release of the first Downton Abbey film which came out in cinemas back in 2019.
The original series ran on television for six seasons from 2010 to 2015 on ITV in the UK.
The film distributors had originally scheduled the new sequel film to premiere in time for Christmas 2021, but the movie's release date was pushed to the following year after delays in production due to the pandemic.
Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley the Earl of Grantham in the series, previously confirmed a Downton Abbey sequel was in the works long before production started.
Who stars in Downton Abbey: A New Era?
The following stars are confirmed for the Downton Abbey: A New Era cast.
- Hugh Bonneville as Robert Crawley, 7th Earl of Grantham
- Samantha Bond as Lady Rosamund Painswick
- Laura Carmichael as Edith Pelham, Marchioness of Hexham
- Jim Carter as Charles Carson
- Brendan Coyle as John Bates
- Michelle Dockery as Lady Mary Talbot
- Kevin Doyle as Joseph Molesley
- Michael Fox as Andy Parker
- Joanne Froggatt as Anna Bates
- Matthew Goode as Henry Talbot
- Robert James-Collier as Thomas Barrow
- Harry Hadden-Paton as Herbert "Bertie" Pelham, Marquess of Hexham
- Allen Leech as Tom Branson
- Phyllis Logan as Elsie Carson
- Elizabeth McGovern as Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham
- Sophie McShera as Daisy Parker
- Tuppence Middleton as Lucy Branson
- Lesley Nicol as Beryl Patmore
- Douglas Reith as Lord Merton
- Maggie Smith as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham
- Imelda Staunton as Lady Maud Bagshaw
- Penelope Wilton as Isobel Grey, Lady Merton
- Nathalie Baye as Madame Montmirail
- Hugh Dancy as Jack Barber
- Laura Haddock as Myrna Dalgleish
- Dominic West as Guy Dexter
- Jonathan Zaccaï as Marquis de Montmirail
There are five new additions to the cast, including French acting legend Nathalie Baye, Hannibal star Hugh Dancy, White Lines actress Laura Haddock, The Wire legend Dominic West and Belgian actor Jonathan Zaccaï.
Meanwhile, Matthew Goode does not reprise his role as Lady Mary's husband Henry Talbot in the film despite appearing in the previous outing.
When asked by Extra if he would make a cameo in Downton Abbey: A New Era when attending a premiere for his series The Offer, Matthew Goode answered: "No, I was making this."
Downton Abbey: A New Era trailers
A full trailer for Downton Abbey: A New Era was released by the distributor Focus Features and Universal Pictures in November.
Catch the full teaser trailer below,
The footage gave our first look at the plot of the film which sees the Dowager Countess reveal that her "mysterious past" with a man before she married the Earl's father has left her in the ownership of a villa in the south of France.
The trailer shows off numerous new cast members and our old favourites as we also see them head off to France for their holidays.
The clip ends with the Dowager Countess bidding the other members of the Crawley family a good night.
A second trailer has now also been released, giving fans a further look at the upcoming sequel.
The trailer sees the Downton estate plunged into chaos as actors and crew members, including the likes of Laura Haddock and Hugh Dancy's characters, arrive and begin filming a movie.
It's not long before the Crawleys escape to the South of France to a villa that was left to Lady Violet by the mysterious man.
But will they be able to solve the mystery of the Dowager Countess’s mysterious inheritance, or will they get distracted by the sun and sea?
The trailer also hints at the movie's newer lead characters getting to know the house’s staff and clashing with Lady Mary (Dockery). Exciting stuff.
Downton Abbey: A New Era plot
Following the wedding of Tom Branson to Lucy Smith, the Crawley family get a surprise when they learn that Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham has inherited a luxury villa on the South of France.
As the Crawleys attempt to get to the bottom of the Dowager's mysterious past, a few of them head down to the French Riviera for answers.
Meanwhile, back at Downton, Lady Mary agrees to let a film crew set up production at the house in exchange for a handsome sum of money.
This means a host of glamorous individuals soon find themselves living among the servants and Crawleys of that beloved house.
Imelda Staunton, who was cast as the third iteration of Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown, said that RadioTimes.com that the first film "was a very nice job to do," before adding: "It's a woman with a nice arc, and a backstory that wasn't just a woman in a tiara and a long dress."
"I've worked with Maggie [Smith, who plays Lady Violet Crawley] before and I've worked with Penelope Wilton [Isobel Crawley] before so you know, we know each other well," she said.
Take a look at the rest of our Drama coverage, or check out what's on with our TV guide.
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