Spoilers for Downton Abbey: A New Era’s ending can be found throughout this piece if you haven't caught the movie in theaters yet. The good news? It's out on DVD and Digital soon!
Downton Abbey: A New Era kicks off with a wedding and basically ended with a funeral (although director Simon Curtis ultimately tweaked that ending somewhat), hitting plenty of other wonderful moments in between. Among those was the engagement of Phyllis and Mr. Moseley after the latter landed a Hollywood gig that would bring in more moolah. The moment was a long time coming, according to actress Raquel Cassidy. In fact, she and her co-star Jim Carter recently shared feelings about the proposal scene with me, as well as what that could mean for Downton in the future.
As part of a visit to the U.K. ahead of A New Era’s Digital, Blu-ray, DVD and streaming release, out now, the two stars of the sequel movie and TV franchise spoke out about the ending we got for the big “downstairs” storyline, which culminated in the staff dressing in period wear to act as extras in the movie within the movie in the film. With everyone dressed up, Mr. Moseley (Kevin Doyle) took the opportunity to share with Phyllis that he could provide for her and proposed in sweet fashion, while a mic stationed nearby picked up the moment for the rest of the staff to listen in.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, Ms. Cassidy shared thoughts on the lovely proposal scene and more, noting she and the A New Era cast were given a “feast on a plate” before sharing her thoughts on what could theoretically come next:
It’s always nice to have an excuse to wear a wedding dress. And certainly one of those. I’d absolutely love to see their relationship play out onscreen beyond happily ever after as well. It’s been a long time coming and I think the way Julian [Fellowes] had us all in costume within the film was, I think that was genius to have it there and have it over the loudspeaker. What I like best about that is almost everyone else’s reaction. We all wanted this to happen. It couldn’t for whatever reason but then when it can I love the fact that Mr. Moseley find out he can offer her something it’s the first thing he does. After all that time it’s so beautifully handled.
Speaking of the future of Downton Abbey, the two stars did riff on the idea of a Downton-goes-to-Hollywood-style follow-up, which would make a whole lot of sense given Mr. Moseley and Phyllis should be part of the “scene” moving forward.
Raquel Cassidy: “I think it’s a really good idea and I think Julian would be up for it.”
Jim Carter: “Bring Carson with them, because Carson has changed his attitude to film now. He thinks film is the way forward… now that he’s done his costume playing Lord Somebody Or Other. Perfect, that’s it. You heard it here first!”
Given one of Mr. Carson’s most memorable moments comes when the Dowager Countess is dying and he gives a rousing speech followed with a quip along the lines of “imagine such a great lady going when there are movie people in the house,” this feels like a little bit of wishful thinking on the actor's part. And yet, honestly, the Mr. Carson as a fish-out-of-water in the French Riviera stuff worked so well I’d imagine Mr. Carter as a fish out of water person in Hollywood would be even more comedic.
Also to note, director Simon Curtis did remind me of one more thing when it comes to where Downton Abbey left off at the end of A New Era. When I mentioned this daydreaming of where the franchise could go next, he did remind me that it’s not just Mr. Moseley who landed a Hollywood gig. At the end of Downton Abbey, Barrow also gets a Hollywood ending of sorts.
Well, who knows? Because of course Barrow is going to be in Hollywood. So, that’s certainly a possibility… I’m thrilled this film has been received so well and I wonder if there’s a future. We’ll see.
There have been lots of ideas bandied about regarding where Downton Abbey could go should it get a third movie or any other sort of extension under the sun following A New Era's theatrical box office run. The sequel itself ends on a few moments that do indicate there could be a future for the franchise into the 1930s and beyond, but as Curtis noted, we’ll have to wait and see what the future holds, wedding-dress wise or otherwise.
For now, Downton Abbey: A New Era is available streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription. In addition, A New Era is available currently on Digital and can be ordered now on Blu-ray and DVD.
