Downton Abbey 2 is CONFIRMED: Creator Julian Fellowes reveals he is set to start work

The second Downton Abbey movie is in the works, according to the show’s creator Julian Fellowes who revealed the exciting news this week. 

There has been much talk about the widely-discussed sequel following the roaring success of the first movie, which was a follow-up to the ITV series. 

While chatting during the Winter TCA press tour session to promote his new ITV drama Belgravia, he confirmed work will start on the movie when he finishes writing his upcoming HBO drama The Gilded Age.

When he was asked about the sequel, Julian all but confirmed the news when he said: ‘Give us a break, guv. Not until I’ve finished the scripts for The Gilded Age’.  

The first Downton movie was a record-breaking success that earned £136million when it was released in September 2019 and fans will now get another chance to see the Crawley family.

Back in December, movie producer Gareth Neame echoed Julian in revealing a return is coming as he too confirmed that a sequel is in the works.

Gareth told The Hollywood Reporter that after the first film’s huge success there have been early talks about making a follow-up, after they were left ‘holding their breath’ regarding the reaction to the film.

Hurrah! The first Downton movie was a record-breaking success that earned £136million when it was released in September 2019 and fans will now get another chance to see the Crawley family

He said: ‘We started vaguely thinking about it [a sequel] before the release of the movie. But we were kind of holding our breath. 

‘The reaction to the film, the press tour in the US and the build-up to release were so strong that we’d been thinking about it. And then it was clear from the first weekend that this was worth taking very seriously.’

When asked whether there had been any talks regarding a sequel, Gareth said that they were in the midst of early discussions, but it would be a challenge to get the entire cast together for another instalment.

He said: ‘We’re having those conversations. We’re working on what the story is, and when we might be able to make it.’

Happy days: There has been much talk about the widely-discussed sequel following the roaring success of the first movie, which was a take on the ITV series (Lesley Nicol, Sophie McShera pictured)

The first Downton Abbey proved to be an astonishing box office success, and was highly praised by fans for feeling like a return to form with the big budget adaptation. 

Last year, Jim Carter – who plays head butler Charles Carson – confirmed that a sequel could be in the works.

He said on This Morning: ‘I think [the money it made] is a very good reason, it was very popular all over the world. Why wouldn’t we make another?

TV man: Back in December, movie producer Gareth Neame (pictured) echoed Julian in revealing a return is coming as he too confirmed that a sequel is in the works

Amazing: Gareth said there has been talks about the possibility of a sequel, but it would be a challenge getting all the cast back together

‘Producers love it, it was a great success. If we could corral the rest of the cast, it would be lovely. What a treat!’

This news backs up claims from The Sun that executives at distributor Focus Features has approached writer Julian last year to begin work on Downton Abbey 2 in order to make the most out of the film’s success.

An insider said: ‘Downton’s popularity as a film has been phenomenal. It took £60million in America alone and has been a roaring success. Julian and the team are over the moon with how it played out. No one expected it would be this big.

‘The commercial viability of a second film is now a dead cert, so Julian has been told to start putting pen to paper on the follow-up.’

Exciting: Fans are delightedly awaiting the return of the movie