Billboard Women in Music 2025
“It’s time to say goodbye.”
That’s the tagline for “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” at least according to a new trailer that premiered at CinemaCon on Wednesday.
That means that all the balls and the flower shows and the garden parties and the haunting excursions and the long, drawn out dinners have come down to this. Yes, the Granthams, those pillars of English aristocracy, are finally closing the doors of their storied estate.
Focus Features presented the first look the sequel as part of Universal’s presentation to theater owners and executives at CinemaCon, and it offers some of the upstairs, downstairs drama that’s made this series so beloved — only this time everything is done in a more elegiac key. It’s 1930, and Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) is mostly seen enjoying herself in London’s high society. For the rest of the short teaser, Lord and Lady Grantham (Hugh Bonneville and Elizabeth McGovern) are shown walking around the grounds of the estate, touching bannisters and stone pillars with an air of finality. As for their loyal servants, they are seen raising a glass to each other, as if to pay tribute to each other for all the immaculately washed linens and perfectly arranged plates of cucumber sandwiches.
The film is being positioned as the end of a story that first began in 2010 as an ITV series before crossing the pond to America, where it aired on PBS. Over the next 15 years, it spawned six seasons, which covered wars, depressions and shifting social mores, as well as three films.
Simon Curtis, who oversaw 2022’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” returns for the follow-up, with Julian Fellowes, the series’ creator, penning the script. The cast includes mainstays such as Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Joanne Froggatt, Phyllis Logan, and Penelope Wilton. Paul Giamatti, who appeared on the show, and Dominic West, who was part of the prior film, reprise their roles, along with franchise newcomers such as Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan.
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” will open in theaters on Sept. 13, 2025.
