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The Dowager Countess of Grantham lives on! The new third Downton Abbey movie is in the works and it is set to pay tribute to the show's beloved character, played by the late Maggie Smith who passed away in September of this year at the age of 89.
Ironically, Smith's character, Violet Crawley, passed away at the end of the beloved show's second movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era. But, the third Downton movie is set to be released in September of 2025, and is going to include a tribute to the Dowager.
Downton Abbey executive producer Gareth Neame told TVLine in a new interview of the upcoming film, "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. 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."
Neame also called Smith's death "the end of an era" and that "we will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again." He added that the cast and crew's "huge respect for her will come across in the next movie."
Downton Abbey, the series, ran from 2010 to 2015, and the show saw two movies following the series finale, Downton Abbey: The Motion Picture and Downton Abbey: A New Era. The third movie will debut on September 12, 2025.