Reports of 'Downton Abbey' Movie May Be Premature

Last spring, trumpets blared that the much anticipated Downton Abbey movie was a go. Since then, nada. What gives?

“We are working on getting the script right and then we’ve got to figure out how to get the (cast) together. Because as you know, people go on and do other things. But we’re hopeful to make a movie sometime next year.”

Thus was spoken NBC Universal president Michael Edelstein last spring, at the opening of Downton Abbey: The Exhibition, an international tour of props and costumes. The press in the UK and the US went wild. Downton Abbey, the most popular UK export series to PBS since the original 1970s Poldark, has a devoted fan following, and rumors of a movie have been swirling ever since it went off the air.