Odds on Who Could Cameo in Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale and How Will the Film Do at Box Office

_{Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale may see surprise cameos and tributes to Dame Maggie Smith. (Image: Collection Christophel / Alamy )}

After six TV series and two movies, Downton Abbey is to bow out graciously with a third and final film, Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale.

The motion picture's first trailer was recently shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, ahead of the movie's September release, and it featured the tagline "The time has come to say goodbye."

The emotional clip saw Hugh Bonneville's character Lord Grantham kiss the stately home, which could be the Crawley family kissing goodbye to their abode.

It's known that the likes of Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Joanne Froggatt will also be reprising their roles – but could there be some surprise appearances, too?

A Swift Downton Return?

Several fans have called on Ted Lasso star Jeremy Swift to return to his Downton roots for the third and final film installment. He portrayed Septimus Spratt, the butler of Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Dame Maggie Smith perfectly portrayed the matriarch, but the legendary actress sadly passed away in September, aged 89. It's known that the forthcoming film will feature some sort of tribute to Maggie and her character after the movie's executive producer, Gareth Neame, confirmed such speculation.

Neame told TVLine: "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.

_{Dame Maggie Smith was perfectly cast as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey, delivering iconic lines with razor-sharp wit and elegance. (Image: Collection Christophel / Alamy)}

"The loss of the Dowager 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. We will never see the like of Dame Maggie Smith ever again."

Could this tribute spark a Spratt comeback? It's 13/8 that Jeremy returns to the movie to reprise his role. 

Related Reads

• New Casino Sites for 2025 | Find Your New Online Casino
• Odds On Which Celebrities Could Help Heal Prince William And Prince Harry's Royal Rift

Matthew: Back From Beyond The Grave?

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale could also feature another late character in the shape of Matthew Crawley. The loveable and kind solicitor was surprisingly killed off in a car crash in the season three finale. As a result, any sort of cameo for the character would have to be from beyond the grave in a possible flashback scene.

Dan Stevens – who has gone on to star in movies Beauty and the Beast and Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb following his Downton departure – is 7/4 to make a shock appearance in the third movie.

Imelda Staunton previously confirmed Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale was in the works, but she, along with Tuppence Middleton and Matthew Goode, are three surprising names who didn't feature on a recent cast list from Carnival Productions.

Staunton portrayed Lady Maud Bagshaw in the first two films – alongside her husband, Jim Carter, who plays Carson – and she let slip the news about a third Downton movie just over a year ago. Speaking on BBC Radio 2, she said, "There will be the final film – there you go."

_{Imelda Staunton (pictured on set with Dame Maggie Smith and Geraldine James) brought a quiet strength to Lady Maud Bagshaw. (Image: WENN Rights Ltd / Alamy)}

When asked if she will potentially get into trouble for revealing such news, she replied, "I don't care." A month later, it was reported that Staunton won't be back to reprise her role. A TV insider told The Sun newspaper at the time: "This will no doubt be sad news for Downton fans, in particular those who were endeared by the character of Lady Maud."

Despite this, Staunton is 3/1 to make a surprise return as Lady Maud, while Middleton and Goode are 2/1 and 4/1 to be back as Lucy Branson and Henry Talbot, respectively.

Many fans have called for the return of Siobhan Finneran's bitter character Sarah O'Brien, who was lady's maid to Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham.

She is 5/2 for a comeback, while Game of Thrones star Rose Leslie – who portrayed Gwen Dawson in Downton's first series – is 5/1 to make a surprise return in the finale. 

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale – To Flop or Triumph?

The first Downton Abbey film performed well at the worldwide box office in 2019, grossing a massive $194.7 million from an estimated budget of around $20 million.

Three years later saw the release of the second movie, Downton Abbey: A New Era. While the budget was doubled to an estimated $40 million, the motion picture grossed $92.7 million at the worldwide box office, more than $100 million less than the first film.

While Downton bosses still doubled their money and more, it begs the question of how the third movie might perform. New Era's figures don't bode too well for The Grand Finale, but fair-weather Downton fans may well return to watch the third instalment purely because it is the last-ever Downton production.

What's more, fans of Maggie Smith's work could also head to theatres to see how Downton pays tribute to the late icon.

It's 11/8 favourite for the third and final Downton film to gross between $100 million and $150 million, which would see the motion picture perform better than New Era but not quite match the first movie's dizzy heights.

However, it's just 6/4 for Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale to gross between $150 million and $200 million, and it's 2/1 that the third and final film follows in the footsteps of the second movie by failing to hit the $100 million mark.

But it's a 5/1 outsider for the motion picture to do better than the first film, Downton Abbey, and hit more than $200 million at the worldwide box office.

A safer bet is that there won't be many dry eyes in cinemas across the land when the movie drops Sept. 12.