What’s Downton Abbey without the effortlessly charming Matthew Crawley?
Brought to life by Legion actor Dan Stevens, we now have reason to believe that Mr. Crawley is headed back to the manor to prepare for next year’s Downton Abbey movie, which is said to be gearing up for a production start this summer with most, if not all, of the mainline cast expected to return.
Dame Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery and Hugh Bonneville are already on the docket, with series creator Julian Fellowes on script duties. The latter will also co-produce this one-off period drama alongside Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge, and based on the latest Instagram post from Stevens, it’s one that will almost certainly herald the return of Matthew Crawley to the manor.
Embedded below, you’ll see him rubbing shoulders with Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary Crawley) and Allen Leech (Tom Branson), and the original Instagram post has Dan Stevens asking his followers if they’d prefer to see his on-screen character with or without a mustache.
The trio appear to be hanging out in Los Angeles, as a subsequent Instagram from Leech includes the hashtag, ‘#backtotheabbey,’ which all but confirms that Dan Stevens will be involved in the Downton Abbey movie, after all.
It’s going on three years since we bid adieu to the residents of Downton Abbey, and ever since, talk of a full-blown film has only gained more and more momentum, eventually leading us to the moment when ITV made things officially official. Brian Percival, whose credits include The Book Thief and About A Girl, and who directed the series’ pilot, will helm the feature when it premieres sometime in 2019.
More from the Abbey when we have it.
