The Next 'Downton Abbey' Movie Will Pay Tribute to Maggie Smith

It's difficult to imagine Downton Abbey without the Dowager Countess. It's equally difficult to imagine the world of British entertainment without Dame Maggie Smith, the iconic star of stage and screen who passed away earlier this year and who brought the character to such vivid and colorful life. But the still-untitled third film in the period drama franchise will reportedly do its best to pay tribute to both its most iconic character and the woman who portrayed her.

As fans of the series already know, the second feature film, Downton Abbey: A New Era, ended with the death of Smith's Dowager Countess Violet, the acerbic, sharp-tongued matriarch of the Crawley clan. The third movie was always going to have to acknowledge the Dowager's absence in some way, but with the real-life passing of Smith early this year it seems obvious that Violet's death will weigh heavier over the world of Downton than before.

“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,” executive producer Gareth Neame recently told TV Line. "“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.”