'Downton Abbey 3' movie now in the works

May 13 (UPI) -- Focus Features and Carnival Films have announced plans to release a third Downton Abbey movie.

The films are sequels to the hit British costume drama, which ran from 2010 to 2015.

Returning from the beloved franchise will be Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter, Phyllis Logan, Robert James-Collier, Joanne Froggatt, Allen Leech, Penelope Wilton, Lesley Nicol, Michael Fox, Raquel Cassidy, Brendan Coyle, Kevin Doyle, Harry Hadden-Paton, Sophie McShera, Douglas Reith and Paul Giamatti.

Joely Richardson, Alessandro Nivola, Simon Russell Beale and Arty Froushan will join for the third, as-yet-untitled movie.

Maggie Smith's iconic character, Violet, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, died in the last movie, 2022's Downton Abbey: A New Era.

Series creator Julian Fellowes is writing the screenplay and producing the project, while Simon Curtis is onboard to direct.

No release date for the third movie has been announced yet.