The acclaimed PBS “Masterpiece” series Downton Abbey, which ended its run in 2015, is making a comeback as a big screen adaptation, with production to start this summer.
On Wednesday, Focus Features announced the film continuation of the beloved award-winning series will hit North American theaters on September 19, 2019. Internationally, the film will debut on September 13, 2019.
The television series, which won three Golden Globe Awards and 15 Primetime Emmy awards during its six-season run, took place in the 20th century and followed the lives of the elite Crawley family and the servants who worked in their home.
Though plot details on the film have yet to be announced, the original cast is set to appear in the upcoming film, including Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and more.
Brian Percival, who directed the original series pilot, as well as notable films such as The Book Thief (2013) and About a Girl (2001), will also be returning to direct the highly anticipated film.
“Since the series ended, fans of Downton have long been waiting for the Crawley family’s next chapter,” Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to join this incredible group of filmmakers, actors and craftspeople, led by Julian Fellowes and Gareth Neame, in bringing back the world of Downton to the big screen.”
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The British actress, who stars in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in theaters on Friday, explained why bringing her character back into the movie would not make much sense: “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 added, noting, “There was no space for Rose.”
The Downton Abbey reunion was teased in 2016, when Dockery admitted that big screen movie was “something I would wholeheartedly consider,” during an interview with the U.K.’s The Telegraph.
In 2017, she expressed interest taking part in a film adaptation, but said getting the entire cast to sign on would be a challenge.
The show’s spirit lives on in Downton Abbey: The Exhibition in New York City, where fans can see costumes, props and sets from the show through Sept. 3.
This article originally appeared in PEOPLE.
