After years of rumours, the news became official last week: Downton Abbey is reopening its doors for a big-screen spin-off, three years after the TV period drama wrapped up for good. And while the original cast is set to return — Hugh Bonneville, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Joanna Froggatt and the likes included — it seems one high-profile cast member won’t be back.
Lily James, who ascended to fame through the original series as Lady Rose, isn’t returning for the film — though it seems the main reason for that is plot-related. Speaking to People, she said: “My character Rose moved off to New York, so it would be farfetched to bring her back […] I would have loved to have come back for a scene, but for a movie it can’t be like a Christmas special and it needs to be a focused storyline.”
James joined Downton Abbey in Series 3 in 2012, and since then went on to star in the likes of Cinderella, Baby Driver, and Darkest Hour. She’s about to hit the big-screen again in Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again playing the younger version of Meryl Streep’s character Donna. She’s clearly got the musical bug, as she’s also starring in Danny Boyle and Richard Curtis’ currently-untitled musical film said to be themed around the music of The Beatles. The Downton Abbey film is set to shoot later this summer, with an expected 2019 release.
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