The Downton Abbey Movie Is Officially Filming

Before there was The Crown, there was everyone’s other favorite prestige soap about wealthy Brits arguing passive aggressively in beautiful homes: Downton Abbey, which hasn’t been on the air since 2016 but which captured our Anglophilic hearts and minds for six seasons. Thankfully, we’re getting the Downton movie, which we now know has officially started filming, thanks to an Instagram post from Michelle Dockery, aka Lady Mary.

Dockery’s photo captures production marking Downton’s Scene 1, Take 1, with what looks like Jim Carter playing the once-incarcerated Mr. Carson in the background. Hugh Bonneville, who plays Lord Grantham, also shared via Instagram that the movie was filming but that he had (cheekily) missed Day 1 in order to see his on-screen wife, Elizabeth McGovern, in a play, with pal Allen Leech, aka Tom Branson.

It’s good to know that the upstairs/downstairs divide doesn’t keep the cast from hanging out together in real life. With creator Julian Fellowes back to bring Downton to the big screen, it’s sure to live up to the hype, but what about a Downton Abbey/Buckingham Palace crossover? Although that would be a little difficult to pull off, since Matthew Goode, who played Henry Talbot when we last left off in Yorkshire, will reappear at the end of the Downton film as Lady Mary’s husband, fresh off of his appearance in Season 2 of The Crown as Lady Margaret’s wild spouse, Lord Snowden. As far as the rest of the clan, Maggie Smith, Laura Carmichael, Joanne Froggatt, Hugh Bonneville, and Elizabeth McGovern are all reprising their roles, but no Lily James as Lady Rose.

Read More Culture Stories:

• The 54 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time—Read More
• Dating Someone Older Isn’t Always a Bad Idea—Read More
• Azealia Banks, Grimes, and Elon Musk: What’s Going On Here?—Read More
• 17 Stars Who Went to Extreme Lengths for Movie Roles—Read More
• Henry Golding, Crazy Rich Asians Star: Everything You Need to Know—Read More