"Years ago, before you were born, I met a man—and now I've come into the possession of a villa in the South of France," shares Dame Maggie Smith's character tantalizingly in the video above.
As Violet Crowley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, Smith all but hides a gleeful smile at this revelation in the just-released teaser for Downton Abbey: A New Era, the sequel to 2019's Downtown Abbey, a continuation of the Emmy Award-winning television series of the same name.
Simon Curtis directs this film, written by Academy Award winner Julian Fellowes who created, wrote, and executive produced the Downton Abbey TV series.
This upcoming Focus Features film, which will be released only in theaters on March 18, 2022, reunites stars Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, and of course Smith. Joining them are Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye, and Dominic West.
While the plot remains under wraps, the teaser does depict the frivolity and gaiety of the late 1920s—as seen in the trailer, flappers sing and twirl about. In an interview with People, Fellowed said, "It’s really a new era. The further the ’20s went along, the more the world was changing in so many ways. Everything from entertainment to transport was really different by the end of the ’20s. That’s what we’re referring to in that.”
And what could be more fun than a trip to France? Nonetheless, some drama will likely ensue. As Jim Carter (Mr. Carson, the butler of Downton Abbey) says, "They better be warned: the British are coming."
The cast also includes theatre veterans Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Michelle Dockery, Allen Leech, Elizabeth McGovern, Imelda Staunton, and more.