Is there going to be a Downton Abbey movie?

Is there going to be a Downton Abbey movie? If the rumors are true, the answer yes…and we shouldn’t have to wait too long, either. The fifth season of the wildly successful period piece Downton Abbey just finished airing in the UK, and will begin its American run on PBS starting the first week in January. A sixth season has been commissioned by ITV; it’ll start shooting early next year. The Downton craze knows no bounds, but it might get even bigger–and soon.

According to Raquel Cassidy, who plays maid Phyllis Baxter on the programme, there have been serious talks about taking the show to the silver screen. And the talks have been all the more productive because of just how popular the show is on both sides of the Atlantic:

There is real hope. It’s been mentioned more than once and there’s a lot of commercial and artistic interest. Stranger things have happened, so watch this space.

Another reason for optimism? Fellowes is no stranger to Hollywood, having been the driving force behind 2001’s critically acclaimed Gosford Park.

The only wrench fouling up the works is Fellowes, the show’s creator, executive producer, and lead writer. (Though “Sole Writer” might be a more accurate title: He co-wrote two episodes of the show’s first season, and wrote every single other episode all by his lonesome.) Fellowes is on record as saying that a movie is an idea that intrigues him greatly, but that he won’t make one until the show has ended its run on television. So, if you’re a big fan of the idea of a Downton movie, pray that the upcoming sixth season is also the last.
(Photo Credit: Downton Abbey movie via WENN)