A Downton Abbey Movie Is (Probably) Really Happening

It’s time to return to Downton Abbey—that didn’t take long.

A movie reunion of the beloved Masterpiece series is officially in the works. “There’s a movie in the works,” Michael Edelstein, president of NBCUniversal International Studios, told the Associated Press, via TVLine. “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…But we’re hopeful to make a movie sometime next year.”

But how concrete is this? Masterpiece did not immediately respond to E! News’ request for comment and cast members were seemingly unaware of the flick taking shape.

Laura Carmichael, Lady Edith on the series, told AP via TVLine:”Tell my agent, because we’re still waiting to know. We’re hoping that will happen soon.”

Talk of a Downton Abbey movie is nothing new.

“I don’t know when, but I’m hopeful,” Michelle Dockery, Lady Mary on the series, previously told E! News.”I miss the show and my friends on the show.”

In August 2016, Joanne Froggatt, Anna Bates on the hit show, told E! News a movie was very likely.

“There’s real talk,” she said. “I don’t think there’s a script yet, but maybe I’m wrong. I haven’t seen a script yet. But maybe there is one. I think it could happen. It could happen.”

When the final season of Downton Abbey was announced, executive producer Gareth Neame discussed plans to continue the story of the Crawley family on the big screen.

“Our position on that is we would be very interested in that. It is definitely something we’re contemplating. It would be great fun to do. I think it would be a wonderful extension of everything that people loved about the TV show, but I can’t confirm that it’s definitely going to happen,” Neame said. “We shall see.”

Downton Abbey ran for six seasons, ending in the UK in 2015 and the US in 2016, and also starred Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Phyllis Logan, Rob James-Collier, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Allen Leech, Lily James, Lesley Nicol, Penelope Wilton and Maggie Smith.