It finally looks as if the long-mooted Downton Abbey movie is going to happen. Since the show came to an end back at Christmas 2015, speculation has been rife that a Downton Abbey movie would be happening. Not that those involved have shut such talk down. Julian Fellowes, the creator and writer of the show, has been open to the idea of a film. Many involved with the programme have echoed that, even though it seems some way from the deals being done stage.

Now, it finally looks like it’s happening though. Chatting to The Hollywood Reporter, NBCUniversal president Michael Edelstein revealed that “there’s a movie in the works. It’s been in the works for some time”.

In terms of how far along the line it is, he added that “we are working on getting the script right, and then we’ve got to figure out how to get the [cast] together”.

He added that “we’re hopeful to make a movie sometime next year”.

Separately, Lily Collins had admitted she’s courting a role in the film. Talking to the Radio Times, she revealed that “I’ve said to my agent ‘how can I be involved in that movie?’ Big houses in the countryside? I’ve done research for that all my life! It just goes to show, you can take the girl out of the Home Counties…”

The earliest we’d expect to see a Downton Abbey film is in 2019.