Julian Fellowes Hints at a 'Downton Abbey' Crossover for 'The Gilded Age' Season 4

The marketing for the final Downton Abbey film is in full swing, with less than a month to The Grand Finale’s debut in the theaters. Peacock will stream all episodes of the series and the first two movies ahead of the film’s release, as well as a TV special featuring behind-the-scenes stories from the cast, which is set to air in the U.S. on September 10, 2025. Naturally, the fandom’s return to Highclere Castle for the final time is reviving interest in the Granthams’ story, and rumors have been circulating in recent months that, although this iteration of the series is over, it does not mean Downton Abbey is done as a franchise. In a recent interview, Elizabeth McGovern, who starred in all six seasons and all three films as Lady Cora Crawley, fanned those flames, claiming she’d heard the producers shooting the breeze about possible “Young Cora” stories while filming.

It turns out McGovern may have been correct about what she heard, but right church, wrong pew, as they say. In a new interview with TVLine, series creator Julian Fellowes revealed that with the end of the movies, the rights to all the characters will be in-house, making them available for new projects, as well as ongoing ones like The Gilded Age. “We can bring about a conjunction whenever we wish,” he said. “We haven’t got one planned yet, so we’ll have to see.”

Understandably, the cast of Downton overhearing talk of young Cora Crawley would have assumed it not to be related to The Gilded Age, as Season 2 barely eked out a renewal, and most fans believed there was little chance Season 3 would be so lucky. However, Season 3 didn’t just go hard; it also finally gave the characters some real stakes alongside their glorious clothing, and a Season 4 renewal was secured well before Season 3 dropped its cliffhanger finale.