After Downton Abbey concluded its incredibly successful six-season run back in 2015, many have speculated it could someday return as a movie. Well, it looks like everybody’s favorite, early-20th century British aristocratic family is officially coming to the big screen. NBCUniversal president Michael Edelstein confirmed the longstanding rumors in a statement to the AP:
There’s a movie in the works. It’s been in the works for some time. We are working on getting the script right and then we’ve got to figure out how to get the (cast) together. Because as you know, people go on and do other things. But we’re hopeful to make a movie sometime next year.
Although this is certainly good news for fans of the show, there’s still a few hurdles to overcome before it becomes a reality. The biggest, as Edelstein alluded to in his statement, is gathering together the cast. Apparently, nobody bothered to tell them there was a movie happening at all. Sophie McShera, who plays Daisy Mason, sounded just as surprised as everybody else. McShera told press, “Oh, well, you’ve got the information before us. We have no idea if it’s happening.” Laura Carmichael, who plays Lady Edith Crawley, was just as surprised, saying, “Well, tell my agent, because we’re still waiting to know, we’re hoping it happens soon.”
So … apparently nobody knows what the hell is going on, but everybody is excited about the prospects. Probably. Hopefully we—and the entire cast of Downton Abbey—will get a little more information soon.