'Downton Abbey' is a planned big-screen adaptation of the multi-award winning television series of the same name. Dame Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess of Grantham is speculated to be killed off in the planned film
According to the Daily Mail, Smith's character, the Dowager Countess Lady Violet Crawley, may not make it to the full-feature silver screen adaptation of the multi-award winning television series created by Julian Fellowes. A source revealed to the Sunday Mirror, "Maggie Smith's decision not to be part of it caused a dilemma, so the plan is now to leap forwards in time far enough for her character to have passed away."
Smith admitted in a previous interview that she did not think having Lady Violet in the planned film would be realistic considering her age in the series. According to Digital Spy, the 81-year old Academy Award winner said that she was happy that the six-season series has finally ended. She added, "By the time we finished, she (Violet) must have been about 110... It couldn't go on and on. It just didn't make sense."
According to The Sun, executive producer Gareth Neame revealed that the show could've gone further if Smith decided to remain in the series. He said, "We easily could have gone for a seventh season, but if I'd have said 'We haven't got Maggie' it would have been a shadow of itself... We all feel very blessed. Nobody regrets ending when we did." However, Neame admitted that there is a possibility that they would push through with the film although there have been no concrete plans made just yet.
'Downton Abbey' is a planned big-screen adaptation of the critically-acclaimed television series created by Julian Fellowes and co-produced by Carnival Films and Masterpiece. It recently aired its final episode in the United Kingdom on December 25, 2015 on ITV.
The television series became one of the most widely watched dramas in the world. It earned several accolades including a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries or Movie.
