Third DOWNTON ABBEY Movie to Pay Tribute to Late Star Maggie Smith

Published: December 30, 2024

Third DOWNTON ABBEY Movie to Pay Tribute to Late Star Maggie Smith

By Movieguide® Contributor

The next installment of the movie DOWNTOWN ABBEY will pay tribute to a special actress, Maggie Smith, who died in September at the age of 89.

Smith played the character Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, in the series and movies. Her character died at the end of the most recent film. The third movie will release in September 2025, almost a year after her death.

“The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway,” said DOWNTON ABBEY executive producer Gareth Neame. “The loss of the Dowager, it now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch. But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful.”

He added, “We will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again,” stating that the passing of the two-time Oscar winner is “the end of an era.”

Her family released a statement at the time of her death.

“It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith,” Smith’s sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said in a statement, per Variety. “She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.”

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days,” their statement concluded.

Smith began acting in the 1950s and went on to earn many accolades for her performances, including three Best Supporting Actress Emmys for her role in DOWNTOWN ABBEY.

While Smith’s absence will be noticed, many of the all-star cast will return for the third film including

Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol and more.

Bonneville promised it’s the “best iteration of the film versions yet.”

“It’s got the usual tropes, if you like, of thrills and spills in a very DOWNTON way, which means spilling a teacup pretty much!” he added.