After more than 15 years, the cast of “Downton Abbey” is making its final curtain call in the movie “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale,” the last installment in the period drama.
The long-running series has provided a glimpse into the early 20th century world of the Crawley family and their servants, all residing in an English castle called Downton Abbey.
The latest film bids adieu to both the series and its beloved characters including Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville), Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern), Lady Mary Talbot (Michelle Dockery), Lady Edith Hexham (Laura Carmichael), Mr. Carson (Jim Carter), Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt), Tom Branson (Allen Leech), Mr. Molesley (Kevin Doyle) and the Dowager Countess, played by Maggie Smith, who notably died in 2024, among other members of the Grantham family and staff.
Ahead of the final film, TODAY.com sat down with Bonneville, Leech and Doyle to find out how they feel about leaving Downton behind, the movie’s emotional ending and whether or not fans can expect another sequel.
Beyond the Abbey
“I like the idea of the audience using their imagination and imagining how those characters are going to develop over the years,” says Kevin Doyle, pictured (L) with Michael C. Fox (R).Rory Mulvey / Focus Features
The series may be over, but in the hearts of fans, their favorite characters will live on indefinitely.
“I like the idea of the audience using their imagination and imagining how those characters are going to develop over the years,” Doyle says.
“(We) leave it to them now,” he continues.
Even so, that doesn’t stop the trio from speculating on what could happen to their respective characters, starting with Mr. Moseley, the servant turned successful screenwriter.
Moseley will “one day give an Oscar speech,” Leech predicts, before pondering Tom Branson’s possible fate, which is to continue establishing himself and his future legacy as a business mogul.
“(Tom’s) very much found his place in society, in the world. He’s very comfortable now and I think I like that idea,” says Leech.
In “The Grand Finale,” Bonneville’s character, Robert Crawley, must come to terms with embracing a new chapter and, according to Bonneville, it’s not unlike his own bittersweet goodbye to the franchise.
“I’m walking off into the sunset with great pride and fond memories,” says Hugh Bonneville who plays the Earl of Grantham.Rory Mulvey / Focus Features
“It’s a chapter that I think — I speak for all of us — that we’ll never forget. It’s been an extraordinary experience that none of us predicted and it is a once-in-a-career experience,” he says.
“It’s a testament to the cast and the audience that we’ve sustained it for so long. So, I’m walking off into the sunset with great pride and fond memories.”
That ‘Gut-Punch’ Ending
“I had to reach for Michelle’s (Dockery) hand in the dark as we were watching in the Soho screening room,” says Hugh Bonneville of “The Grand Finale.”Rory Mulvey / Focus Features
In “The Grand Finale,” the Crawley family’s epic saga reaches its conclusion and with it comes its share of heart-wrenching moments, which even the cast found themselves getting emotional over.
“I had to reach for Michelle’s (Dockery) hand in the dark as we were watching in the Soho screening room,” Bonneville says.
Leech says that he was also caught off guard by the movie’s final scenes.
“It really is very emotional,” Allen Leech says of the “Downton Abbey” finale.Rory Mulvey / Focus Features
“I ran back to the theater last night to watch the last 10 minutes and it really is very emotional,” Leech reveals.
“Because I wasn’t sitting down, I got to watch the audience. And to watch them go from pure elation of being there and immersed in the world of Downton again, and watching them suddenly crumble, I have to say, it kind of (gave me) immense pleasure,” he says with laugh.
“It was great to know that they loved these characters so much that it really was affecting them,” he continues. “It was really an amazing thing to watch.”
For Doyle, “The Grand Finale” didn’t cut as deep as the original ending of the series, saying that there were “a lot of tears” when the show ended in 2015.
“The end of the TV series hit hard because we thought that that was it,” Doyle recalls. “And it had been a glorious six years.”
But as everyone knows, the franchise was far from over.
“We’ve kind of had these bonus goodbyes,” says Leech of the subsequent sequels.
Will ‘Downton Abbey’ Ever Return?
Downton Abbey’s beloved staff in “The Grand Finale.” Rory Mulvey / Focus Features
After airing on PBS from 2010 to 2015, the Julian Fellowes show hit the big screen in 2019 with the eponymous movie, “Downton Abbey,” followed by 2022’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” and, of course, the final installment, “Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.”
Is there a chance that Downton could once more make its return?
“The fact is, the castle’s always been the central character, so that’s still there. Put it that way,” says Bonneville. “I mean, it’s just time for us to finish.”
Leech agrees, saying, “Just the story of Downton is probably over for our characters, doesn’t mean the story of Downton (is over) though.”
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