Focus Features has pushed back the release of “Downton Abbey: A New Era” two months and the sequel will now be released on May 20, the company announced Wednesday.
The sequel was previously scheduled for release on March 18. The film will be released in the U.K. by Universal on April 29.
While plot details for the film have been sparse, writer Julian Fellowes told People that Lady Mary continues to run Downton as the mother of the next Earl of Grantham.
“As we know from the last film, Mary may not be the titular head of the household, but she is effectively running the show. We take that further,” Fellowes said. “We’re trying to mark the change — the fact that Crawleys of Downton are nearly in the 1930s, which is merely the beginning of the modern world.”
“Downton Abbey: A New Era” stars Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Hadden-Paton, David Haig, Geraldine James, Robert James-Collier, Simon Jones, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Tuppence Middleton, Stephen Campbell Moore, Leslie Nicol, Kate Phillips, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton and Penelope Wilton.
Cast members new to the “Downton Abbey” franchise include Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye, Dominic West and Jonathan Zaccaï.
“Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes wrote the script for “A New Era” (just as he did for the first film), which is directed by Simon Curtis. Fellowes produces “Downton Abbey: A New Era” alongside Gareth Neame and Liz Trubridge.