All good things must come to an end eventually including our time at Downton Abbey.
With its September 12 release date inching closer, Focus Features finally revealed the official title for the third Downton Abbey movie which will bring an official end to the beloved franchise 15 years after it first debuted on PBS to rave reviews. Taking to the official Downton Abbey Instagram, it was revealed that the previously untitled third film will be titled Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.
If there was any doubt that the film’s title was hinting at the film being a closing chapter for the franchise, it’s tagline most certainly confirms the film will be the final chapter in the franchise with the poster teasing, “The time has come to say goodbye.”
Focus Features continues to keep fans in the dark regarding exactly what the forthcoming final film will be about, with no official synopsis released for the film thus far. It does seem safe to assume that Michelle Cockery’s Lady Mary Talbot will be at the center of the film as it’s Lady Mary who takes center stage in the newly released poster as a vision in red amid the halls of Downton Abbey.
While info on the film’s plot remains a mystery, we do know that most of the original cast will be returning for the final sendoff for the beloved franchise, and they’ll be joined by a few new faces along the way.
In addition to Dockery, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale will star Hugh Bonneville (Lord Robert Grantham), Laura Carmichael (Lady Edith Pelham), Jim Carter (Mr. Charles Carson), Raquel Cassidy (Miss Baxter), Brendan Coyle (Mr. John Bates), Kevin Doyle (Mr. Joseph Molesley), Michael Fox (Andy Parker), Joanne Froggatt (Mrs. Anna Bates), Paul Giamatti (Harold Levinson), Harry Hadden-Paton (Bertie Hexham), Robert James-Collier (Mr. Thomas Barrow), Allen Leech (Tom Branson), Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Elsie Hughes Carson), Elizabeth McGovern (Lady Cora Grantham), Sophie McShera (Mrs. Daisy Parker), Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale, Dominic West (Guy Dexter), Penelope Wilton (Isobel Merton), Arty Froushan, Joely Richardson, Paul Copley (Mr. Mason), and Douglas Reith (Lord Merton).
As disappointing as it might be to learn that the upcoming third Downton Abbey will be the final chapter in the franchise, the fact that we got to revisit the beloved series for three feature films following the show’s series finale in 2015 has been an absolute treat. The films have allowed the fans to see exciting new developments in the lives of the show’s central characters with the movies expanding upon the story in fun new ways bringing about surprise developments and new dynamics.
After 15 years, it’s going to be interesting to see how the writers bring the story to a close, but we have a feeling it will take a similar page from what was intended to be the show’s series finale in providing just enough closure to the central storylines while leaving the door open for fans to imagine the story continuing in new ways.