‘Downton Abbey 3’ contains ‘meaningful’ tribute to Maggie Smith
Fans of “Downton Abbey” were devastated when Maggie Smith, also known as the Dowager Countess, died in September. Smith starred in both the TV series and both films, with the character Countess dying at the end of ‘Downton Abbey: A New Era’.
Now executive producer Gareth Neame promises that the third film, due out on September 12, will feature a tribute to both the character and Smith himself.
“The fact that Dame Maggie herself has since passed away, I think, has really added poignancy to a story that we had planned anyway,” says Neame. told TVLine while promoting Peacock’s “The Day of the Jackal.” “With the loss of the widow, it now feels much more important that you see actors playing characters who mourn the family matriarch. But I also see actors mourning the show’s matriarch, and it feels more authentic and meaningful.
Neame calls her loss “the end of an era” and says: “We will never see anything like Dame Maggie Smith again.” He also said that the “great respect” of the cast and crew of “Downton Abbey” “will be reflected in the next film.”
Smith received three Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for her performance as the Dowager Countess in the TV series “Downton Abbey.”
Before her impressive farewell role in “Downton Abbey,” Smith won Oscars for best actress for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” and for “California Suite.” She was nominated for an Oscar for ‘Travels With My Aunt’, ‘A Room With a View’ and for ‘Gosford Park’, which writer Julian Fellowes shared with ‘Downton Abbey’.
