Downton Abbey: A New Era is a 2022 historical drama film and the sequel to the 2019 film Downton Abbey. Both films were written by Julian Fellowes, the creator and writer of the television series of the same name, with the sequel being directed by Simon Curtis, replacing Michael Engler who directed the first film. Downton Abbey: A New Era was released in the United Kingdom on 29 April 2022 by Universal Pictures and was released in the United States on 20 May by Focus Features.[5] Like the first film, it received generally positive reviews from critics.
Tom Branson, the Earl of Grantham’s widowed son-in-law, marries Lucy Smith, the illegitimate daughter and sole heir of Lady Maud Bagshaw, Queen Mary’s lady-in-waiting. Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, astonishes the family with a visit from the family lawyer, revealing that years ago she had been gifted a villa in the South of France by the Marquis de Montmirail. She has decided to give it to her great-granddaughter, Sybbie, the daughter of Tom and the late Lady Sybil Crawley.
A film production company requests the use of Downton for location shooting of a silent film called “The Gambler”. Robert initially turns them down; however, his eldest daughter, Lady Mary Talbot, convinces him that the income would cover the cost of replacing Downton’s leaking roof. While much of the household staff are eager to see the film stars, the female lead’s arrival immediately becomes disruptive and less than impressive.
The new Marquis de Montmirail invites the family to visit the French villa. The ailing Violet is unable to travel, but Tom and Lucy, Lady Bagshaw, Robert Crawley (Lord Grantham) and his wife Cora, and their daughter Edith (the Marchioness of Hexham) and her husband, Bertie Pelham (the Marquess of Hexham), accept. Lady Mary remains at Downton to oversee the filming.
Montmirail welcomes the family to the villa while his mother, Madame Montmirail, wants to contest Violet Crawley’s ownership. The marquis insists the villa is legally Violet’s. He stuns Robert by implying that Robert’s birth date, nine months after the Dowager Countess visited in 1864, could mean that they are half-brothers. When Cora reveals she may be fatally ill, Robert breaks down at the prospect of losing his mother, the Crawley name, and his wife in short succession.