ThirdDownton AbbeyMovie Will Have 'Meaningful' Tribute to Maggie Smith: 'Mourning the Matriarch of the Show'

Mar. 15, 2025

Maggie Smith in ‘Downton Abbey’.Photo:Jaap Buitendijk/Focus Features/Carnival Film & Television/Perfect World Pictures/Alamy

Jaap Buitendijk/Focus Features/Carnival Film & Television/Perfect World Pictures/Alamy

ThethirdDownton Abbeymoviewill be a chance to mourn the Dowager Countess andMaggie Smith, the actress who played her.

“We will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again,” he said, calling the loss of the two-time Oscar winner “the end of an era.”

In the latter installment, the Dowager Countess dies. “The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway,” said Neame, 57, of the upcoming third film, scheduled for a Sept. 12, 2025 theatrical release.

Maggie Smith on ‘Downton Abbey’ in 2010.Nick Briggs / Carnival Films for Masterpiece/PBS / Courtesy Everett Collection

Nick Briggs / Carnival Films for Masterpiece/PBS / Courtesy Everett Collection

“The loss of the Dowager,” added theDay of the Jackalproducer, “now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch. But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful.”

The “huge respect” that theDownton Abbeycast and crew have for Smith “will come across in the next movie,” he promised.

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ManyDownton Abbeycast members reactedto Smith’s death with heartfelt remembrances in the days following her death.

Michelle Dockery, who played the Dowager Countess’ granddaughter Lady Mary Crawley, said in a statement, “There was no one quite like Maggie. I feel tremendously lucky to have known such a maverick. She will be deeply missed and my thoughts are with her family.”

Hugh Bonneville, who played Smith’s character’s son Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, said, “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent."

Paul Giamatti, one of the series’ guest stars expected to reprise his role as Harold Levinson in the third movie, called the “genius" Smith “the kind of actor who makes you proud to be an actor.”

Maggie Smith in 2023.Karwai Tang/WireImage

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Downton Abbeycreator Julian Fellowes called working with Smith “the greatest privilege of my career,” telling PEOPLE, “we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career.”

source: people.com