The ‘Downton Abbey’ movie will include a tribute to Maggie Smith, says producer: ‘feels significant’

nypost.com:

died at 89 in September. Smith played the iconic Dowager Countess in the TV show, which ran from 2010-2015, and both follow up movies.

Her character died at the end of the second movie, 2022’s “Downton Abbey: A New Era,” but executive producer Gareth Neame said the upcoming third film will still include a tribute. “The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time, I do think, has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway,” Neame told TVLine.He added, “The loss of the Dowager, it now feels far more significant that you see actors playing characters mourning the family matriarch.

But I also see actors mourning the matriarch of the show, and it feels more genuine and more meaningful.”Neame called her loss “the end of an era.“We will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again,” he said.

He added that the “Downton Abbey” cast and crew’s “huge respect” will “come across in the next movie.”The Hollywood legend won three Emmys and a Golden Globe for her role as the Countess in “Downton Abbey.”Smith was survived by her sons, “Black Sails” star Toby Stephens, 55, and “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” actor Chris Larkin, 57, as well as grandchildren.