DOWNTON ABBEY

CLOSER TAKES A SNEAK PEEK AT THE CRAWLEY FAMILY’S FIRST THEATRICAL FEATURE

Here’s a sneak peek at five fun facts from the set of the hotly anticipated movie.

When Downton Abbey broadcast its final episode in 2016, the members of the upper class Crawley family and their beloved servants had mostly found their happy endings, but the conclusion of the period drama left fans wanting more. In the fall of 2019, Downtown Abbey, a theatrical release, will pick up in the autumn of 1927, 18 months after the events of the series finale. Closer uncovered these revelations about the new film.

After years of romantic ups and downs,

Lady Mary, played by Michelle Dockery, finally found her match in Henry Talbot, a race car driver who seems to match her temperament. “They’re very supportive of one another and they’re good friends. It’s nice to see Mary in that way as opposed to being in constant turmoil about her love life,” says Michelle, who hints that even though her family life is settled, Lady Mary will be needed at Downton more than ever. “There’s a sense of Mary holding it all together,” she says.

Meanwhile, younger sister Lady Edith triumphed by marrying Bertie,

who became 7th Marquess of Hexham. Her move to an even more wealthy, distinguished house will be a difficult transition for her. “It brings with it much more responsibility and protocol than she was raised with at Downton,” confides the film’s director, Michael Engler.

Tom Branson, Lady Sybil’s widower,

moved to the United States with their daughter, Sybbie. Love might finally catch up with him in the film. “Given the fact that he is one of the only ones left who hasn’t found love, one would hope and assume there is an opportunity for him to have an iota of a chance at finding something,” says Allen Leech, who plays the former chauffeur.

Carson, the estate’s discreet and capable butler,

had retired due to palsy at the series end, but the servant, played by Jim Carter, will be back. “Let’s just say that his brief retirement has been very good for his health,” says Engler, who previously directed several episodes of the TV series.

Lady Violet will also return

— perhaps the least changed of any of the principals and still ready to deliver the best one-liners. “She represents the oldest of the old guard,” remarks Engler of the Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith. “She has a beautiful line in the film where she says to Mary, ‘One must have standards, but one must not be inflexible.’ That’s what she’s always stood for.”