Downton Abbey 3 release date is revealed as cast start shooting new movie in Yorkshire
The release date for the third Downton Abbey film has been revealed as filming begins in Yorkshire.
The new movie will be released worldwide on September 12, 2025, with Universal Pictures UK confirming the news on Instagram.
The caption read: 'A new motion picture event. The third film in the beloved #DowntonAbbey franchise will be released only in cinemas September 12, 2025.'
Hugh Bonneville, Dominic West, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier are to return for the hotly-anticipated movie.
Downton Abbey 3 will be released worldwide on September 12, 2025, it has been announced
Joanne Froggatt - who confirmed this week she is pregnant with her first child - Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, and Douglas Reith will also be back at Downton.
Last month, it was revealed Paul Giamatti will also be part of the cast.
The Oscar-nominee is to reprise his role from the TV series as Cora's brother Harold Levinson.
Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola and 'House of the Dragon' actors Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan are also expected to join the third film in the franchise.
Last week the cast looked in high spirits as they reunited to film scenes at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate.
Plot details have so far remained under wraps about the upcoming motion picture, which is written by Julian Fellowes and produced by Gareth Neame, Fellowes and Liz Trubridge.
However it can be expected to follow 2022's A New Era, which ended in the late 1920s with the heartbreaking passing of Crawley matriarch, Lady Violet.
The third instalment was first let slip early by actress Imelda Staunton, who unashamedly announced that there would definitely be a 'third and final' film.
The ITV drama series debuted in 2010 and ran until 2015, with the first of the two films being released in 2019 (pictured)
Joanne Froggatt - who confirmed this week she is pregnant with her first child - is returning alongside Hugh Bonneville, Michelle Dockery , Laura Carmichael and more
Joanne is pictured as Anna Bates with Brendan Coyle as Mr Bates in series two
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Downton Abbey's Michelle Dockery and co-stars seen filming the third movie in first pictures
It was later confirmed by the show runners, who announced that there would be a 'third film in the beloved Downton Abbey franchise'.
However, while producers have 'tried to reunite the cast' some stars will be unable to return.
A TV insider told The Sun: 'None of the cast members were guaranteed to return.
'Although the producers have tried to reunite most of the Downton stars, not all of them have been able to commit, even if they did appear in the first two films.'
In February, The Mail revealed the period drama would be making a surprise comeback for a seventh series.
Throughout the series, Downton was filmed at Highclere Castle, a Grade I listed country house in Newbury that instantly became a tourist trap as a result of the show's success
The release date was announced on Instagram with the caption - 'A new motion picture event. The third film in the beloved #DowntonAbbey franchise will be released only in cinemas September 12, 2025'
Bosses hoped to be able to bring back some of the big name actors who appeared in the previous six seasons and two movie spin-offs.
The return of the show, which covered the many societal changes and world events between 1912 and 1928, is expected to be on screen next year.
The hugely successful period drama started on ITV in 2011 and has spawned six seasons and two movies.
The first two films, released in 2019 and 2022, grossed a combined $287.3 million worldwide.