'Downton Abbey' star Jim Carter confirms that another movie sequel is in the works

Downton Abbey star Jim Carter has confirmed that a second feature-length sequel to the blockbuster TV series is in the works, with filming starting in 2021.

Carter, who played resident butler Charles Carson, says the cast has already been given the screenplay for a sequel, following the success of the first movie last year.

Interviewed by ITV's This Morning, the actor did not reveal any details about the script, other than it is filled with humour.

"If you promise not to tell anyone, I'll let you know that we've seen a script … The script for a second film is there. We've seen it, it's very funny," he said.

"It's got all the same characters in, all the regular characters, and I think the will is - Covid willing - we'll film it next year," he added.

Carter was on the show to talk about the upcoming 10th anniversary of Downton Abbey.

He told the show's hosts that it doesn't feel like 10 years have passed.

"It's amazing. Does it feel like 10 years? It [does] seem like an age ago. And I looked down on my bookshelves and I found this - a bound script of the first edition of the first script of Downton Abbey," he said.

"And I had a little wave of nostalgia and my first scene, it says "Carson the Butler sits in his magnificence"... and my first line was 'Ah, William, any papers yet?'... as the newspapers were being delivered!"

The long-running series left our screens in 2016, and so fans of Downton Abbey were delighted to see all of our favourites characters from the original TV show, including Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville), Violet Crawley (Maggie Smith), Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery), Anna Bates (Joanne Froggatt) and Cora Crawley (Elizabeth McGovern), returned to the big screen last year.

The film - which was set in 1927; roughly 18 months after the TV series finished - followed the residents as they face a new crisis: the impending visit of King George V and Queen Mary.

This article was first published on the NZ Herald and is republished here with permission. Additional reporting by The Hits.