England is coming to France The teaser trailer for "Downton Abbey: A New Era" reveals that the Crawley family is heading across the Channel to France Apparently, the Countess has inherited a villa from a mysterious man from the past Shocking The teaser trailer for the sequel film also gives us a glimpse of other major characters, including Lady Mary, Lady Edith, Lord Grantham, Mr Carson, and Mr Barrow

"Downton Abbey 2" follows the first film, which was released in 2019 and was a box office hit Both films continue the storyline depicted in the series, which ran for six seasons Downton Abbey is a fictional mansion in Yorkshire, home to the aristocratic Crawley family The drama follows the lives of the Earl of Grantham, Lady Grantham and her daughters, and their servants, including Mr Carson, the former butler, and Mrs Hughes, the housekeeper

Downton Abbey: A New Era returns most of the main cast from the series and the first film The screenplay was written by creator Julian Fellowes and directed by Simon Curtis

Information known so far about "Downton Abbey" includes: A New Era

Focus Features has set a March release date for "Downton Abbey: A New Era" on March 18, 2022

Julian Fellowes first began talking about a sequel to the film when the first film was released; in February 2021, star Hugh Bonneville told BBC Radio 2 that production would begin once everyone had been vaccinated against COVID-19

"I would love to do it, I really would," he said, "and I think it would be a kind of hedonistic release of a film that audiences would enjoy after this mess we've been through, just as the first film was"

The first "Downton Abbey 2" teaser trailer was shown in a theater attached to the Irish family drama "Belfast"

The teaser trailer sets up what appears to be the plot of the sequel: Countess Violet inherits a French villa from a mysterious man she has known in the past Lord and Lady Grantham are seen enjoying a voyage on their sophisticated yacht (complete with French flag) In addition, Tom Branson marries Lucy Smith, and a glamorous unknown woman comes to Downton Abbey

Many of the cast members from the Downton Abbey series and the first film will return These include:

Several new faces will join the cast of Downton Abbey 2 One can be seen in the first picture of the film: Laura Haddock as Myrna Dalglish

Other new cast members are Hugh Dancy, Natalie Bay, and Dominic West Roles have not yet been announced

Along with the teaser trailer, Focus released four photos from the film The photo at the top of this article shows Lord Grantham and Lady Mary on the steps of their home

Another shows Myrna, dressed in a glamorous gown, exiting her car Andy the footman is opening the door

In the third Downton Abbey 2 photo, Bertie, Edith, Lucy, and Tom are strolling on the lawn with tennis rackets in hand It looks like a doubles match is about to begin

And the last image shows the familiar scene of Daisy and Mrs Patmore talking in the kitchen while stirring a pot

Not much is known about the plot of Downton Abbey 2, not even what year it is set in

The first film was set in 1927 and depicted the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Downton Abbey

The sequel seems to be set shortly thereafter, possibly in 1928 or 1929 The teaser trailer reveals that Tom will marry Lucy, whom he met during that royal visit She is introduced as Lady Bagshaw's companion and later revealed to be her secret daughter (born out of wedlock) The previous film ended with Tom and Lucy agreeing to write letters and get to know each other The courtship seems to have worked

At the end of the first film, Violet tells Mary that she is dying Since then, fans have speculated that Downton Abbey: A New Era will feature the death of the Countess of Grantham The teaser trailer features Maggie Smith, but the subtitle, "A New Era," also indicates that perhaps the ruling of Downton will be passed from Violet to Mary

The teaser trailer begins with Violet informing her family that she met a man many years before her children were born Now she has a vacation home in the south of France It seems that at least some of the Crawley family is going to France to check out the place This includes Lord and Lady Grantham, who enjoy sailing trips on their yacht Lady Edith and her husband, plus Tom and Lucy, are also likely to visit the villa [One person is missing, Henry Talbot, Mary's husband and Tom's business partner At the end of the teaser trailer, the family lines up for a wedding photo, but Henry is conspicuously absent Matthew Goode appeared very briefly in the first film, and it was explained that Henry was on a business trip Goode may have been so busy with other projects, including an appearance in "Discovering Witches," that he only had time for one more cameo in "The New Age" Alternatively, Mary's marriage may have ended in divorce