Downton Abbey: A New Era Gets Meta as a Film Crew Takes Over the Estate in New Trailer

The Crawleys have returned, and in the upcoming Downton Abbey: A New Era, we see the British aristocratic family as they once again deal with the constantly modernizing outside world creeping into their estate. In the new trailer for the latest installment, two major plot points peek out that will be driving this chapter of the Crawley’s story.

Things get meta in Downton when it’s revealed that a famous director and producer want to make a movie at the palatial house. Much of the family is hesitant, but eventually, they agree, and in comes Dominic West and Laura Haddock as the film stars ready to turn the grand home into a movie set. Luckily for the Crawleys, they have just the place to escape to as the movie is in the works—a villa in the French Riviera. Maggie Smith’s Dowager Countess reveals she recently gained possession of the home, a delayed souvenir from a relationship with a man years earlier. So, the family heads to France, but things seem to get a little complicated as they unearth more of the Dowager Countess’ mysterious past.

Much of the original cast will return in the film, including Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, and Michelle Dockery, with new additions like West. The movie is written by the show’s creator, Julian Fellowes, along with Simon Curtis. Downton Abbey: A New Era premieres in theaters on May 20, 2022. In the meantime, check out the trailer below.