Third Downton Abbey film is in development

A third 'Downton Abbey' film is in the works.

Production on the period drama – the latest big-screen spin-off from the TV series that aired on ITV between 2010 and 2015 – is due to start within months.

The same cast and crew – including Hugh Bonneville, Jim Carter and Michelle Dockery – are expected to shoot at Highclere Castle in Hampshire this summer ahead of release in 2025.

An insider told The Sun newspaper: "This will be huge news for fans of the show who have remained just as addicted to ‘Downton’ long after it went from telly drama to movie blockbuster.

"There has been endless speculation about whether there would be a third movie and when it would be released, but finally devotees have had their prayers answered.

"The first two films proved such a success that a third one seemed inevitable, but the biggest problem was the logistics of bringing the cast back together as their diaries are all so packed."

'Downton Abbey' has been adapted into two movies but Bonneville – who stars as the Earl of Grantham – cast doubt on the possibility of a third picture after the release of the sequel 'Downton Abbey: A New Era' in 2022 as he felt that the story had "probably run its course".

The 60-year-old star told ScreenRant: "This is a fictional world, because I don't think there will be another one. I was thinking for a while that [there] would be; we're all up for it, and let's go. But I think it's probably run its course now. And it's been a fantastic 12 years on and off that we've visited this family. But I think probably enough is enough.

"Were it to carry on, I don't know where it would go next. On the basis that each of the last few iterations has been roughly taking place in a year, or during a year, we'd be in 1929.

"What happens then? It's the Wall Street crash, and the gaiety of the 20s is going to come crashing to a halt. So, it'd be pretty potentially pretty gloomy. I don't know."