Focus Features says "Downton Abbey 2" will be released in theaters Dec. 22. The sequel's production began in mid-April 2021.
Original cast members Maggie Smith, Hugh Bonneville and Michelle Dockery will return for the film's sequel.
They will be joined by Laura Haddock from "Guardians of the Galaxy," Hugh Dancy from "Black Hawk Down," Nathalie Baye from "Catch Me if You Can" and Dominic West of "The Wire" fame.
"After a very challenging year with so many of us separated from family and friends, it is a huge comfort to think that better times are ahead and that next Christmas we will be reunited with the much beloved characters of 'Downton Abbey,'" producer Gareth Neame said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Hugh Bonneville, who played Robert Crawley in the series and the first film, teased the possibility of a sequel.
"Here's the deal, if everybody who is offered a vaccine takes a vaccine, we can make a movie, we will make a movie," he said in a February interview with the BBC's "The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show," according to Variety.
The plot of the sequel is still under wraps. Julian Fellowes, who wrote and created the TV series, will also return to write the sequel's screenplay.
Peter Kujawski, chairperson of Focus Features, believes that the return of the beloved Downton family will delight fans.
The 2019 film, the first return of the Crawley family since the hugely popular "Downton Abbey" series ended in 2016, followed a royal visit to Downton and an assassination attempt on the King of England. It was a big success - grossing more than $194 million on a budget of $13 million to $20 million.
"Downton Abbey 2" is a Carnival Films production, with Focus Features and Universal Pictures International handling distribution. Carnival Films is a subsidiary of NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of the Universal Studio Group.
