Late Dame Maggie Smith to get tribute in third ‘Downton Abbey’ movie

Late Dame Maggie Smith is going to be “mourned” in the third Downton Abbey.

The third film will serve as a poignant tribute to both the iconic Dowager Countess and the beloved actress who brought her to life, Maggie Smith.

Following Smith’s passing on September 27 at the age of 89, the upcoming Downton Abbey movie will include a “meaningful” tribute, executive producer Gareth Neame told TVLine in an interview published Tuesday, December 24.

“We will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again,” Neame said, calling the loss of the two-time Oscar winner “the end of an era.”

Smith portrayed Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, since the ITV and PBS drama's debut in 2010. 

She continued the role in the 2019 film adaptation and its 2022 sequel, Downton Abbey: A New Era, even after the series concluded in 2015.

In A New Era, the Dowager Countess dies within the story. 

Neame, 57, noted the added significance of this storyline in light of Smith’s real-life passing. 

“The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway,” he said of the third film, scheduled for a September 12, 2025, theatrical release.

“The loss of the Dowager,” added the Day of the Jackal producer, “now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch. 

But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful.”

Neame promised that the "huge respect" the Downton Abbey cast and crew have for Smith “will come across in the next movie.”

Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes called working with Smith “the greatest privilege of my career,” telling People, “we were more than fortunate to be part of the last act in her stellar career.”

Smith, whose final screen credit was the 2023 film The Miracle Club, is survived by her sons and five grandchildren.