Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale may be the end of the period franchise as we know it, but the story is moving forward with Lady Mary Crawley front and center.
“When you took charge, there were emperors in Moscow, Vienna and Berlin. And your parents were king and queen of this part of the county,” Crawley family cousin Tom Branson (Allen Leech) says in Us Weekly’s exclusive first look at the upcoming film which hits theaters on Friday, September 12. “But that world is gone now. It’s a different place.”
Hugh Bonneville’s character, Robert Crawley, also known as the 5th Earl of Grantham, fires back at Tom, “So everyone keeps saying.”
While Robert is upset by his family member’s perspective, Tom continues to explain his reasoning and advocates for Robert’s eldest daughter Mary (Michelle Dockery) to take over the reins.
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“And it’s not different because we can get to Cape Town in a few days instead of half a year. We’re changing too,” he says. “The way we talk, the way we dress, the way we deal with each other. This is Mary’s time. She’s in step with how to run this estate in the ‘30s, ‘40s and the ‘50s.”
After hearing her name mentioned, Mary looks up from her seat but remains silent.
Robert angrily questions, “And I am not?” However, Tom responds that he knows “the system doesn’t work if people hold on too long.”
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale follows the Crawley family and their staff in the 1930s, according to the film’s synopsis. During this new historical period, Mary finds herself in the midst of a public scandal. In addition to Mary’s personal woes, the Crawley family faces financial trouble. The hardship on the once well-off brood also brings the threat of social disgrace, a sentiment the Crawleys have not tackled. In order to move forward, the Crawleys must adapt to the changes coming in the new age and ensure the next generation can prosper.
In addition to Dockery, Bonneville and Leech, the Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale cast also includes Simon Russell Beale, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Michael Fox, Joanne Froggatt, Paul Giamatti, Harry Hadden-Paton, Robert James-Collier, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Lesley Nicol, Alessandro Nivola, Dominic West, Penelope Wilton, Arty Froushan, Joely Richardson, Paul Copley and Douglas Reith.
The film is the third and final installment of the Downton Abbey franchise. Downton Abbey started off as a series which ran for six seasons before getting the film treatment in 2019.
Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale premieres in theaters September 12.
