Downton Abbey sequel enters New Era with official title, wedding hints

It's time to stop calling it Downton Abbey 2.

Lords and ladies, we have a proper name for the sequel: Downton Abbey: A New Era.

The announcement was made as a short teaser — that included a hint of a wedding — from the film was shown at CinemaCon in Las Vegas Wednesday night.

Carnival Films, the studio behind the next installment, also gave us a new in-theaters-only release date: March 18, 2022. It was originally slated for a holiday/Dec. 22 release.

Julian Fellowes returned to pen the screenplay for the movie, which brings back the beloved Crawley family and the staff of Downton, including the original principal cast members (i.e. Michelle Dockery, Maggie Smith (who had a tiny moment at the end of Wednesday's CinemaCon tease), and Jim Carter.

It was previously announced the franchise is welcoming new talent for the sequel. Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock, Nathalie Baye, and Dominic West are part of the cast in undisclosed roles. In fact, Violet's (Smith) line in the trailer was to West's unnamed character, with her quipping, "What a colorful life you lead."

Additional reporting by Lauren Huff.

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