Actress Imelda Staunton, who played Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting Lady Maud Bagshaw in the first two films, confirmed that a “final” movie is in the pipeline.

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Downton Abbey successfully ran on ITV from 2010 to 2015, with two films following in 2019 and 2022, raking in £225m at global box offices.

The Sun exclusively reported that the new project is due to start filming this summer and is expected to pick up where the sequel left off in the late-1920s.

We also revealed that show bosses have signed up Hollywood star Paul Giamatti for the cast of the upcoming project.

Paul featured as Harold Levinson in the Downton Abbey 2013 Christmas special.

After the news broke out fans took to social media and expressed their thoughts on the upcoming third outing – and unfortunately, not everyone is thrilled at the idea.

Taking to Reddit one user wrote: “Jesus Christ, no.

“I love Downton Abbey. It’s a comfort watch, but the last movie didn’t need to exist and was already running into the ground. Let it rest.”

Another added: “ Do we really need this?”

While a fourth echoed: “Talk about milking it dry – when will it end?!”

However a fourth defended the flick, pointing out: “If we have 27 seasons of Silent Witness, we can have three Downton movies.”

“I haven’t watched the series since Crawley died. I didn’t mind the show before that, good idea to pick it back up?” a fourth fan quizzed. 

Earlier this month, The Sun also revealed that most of the cast and creative team would be returning to Highclere Castle in Hampshire to start work on the third big-screen instalment, which is being produced by Carnival Films.

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