‘Downton Abbey’ Creator Teases Mary’s Future; Will It Be In The Rumored Movie?

“Downton Abbey” is over, but creator Julian Fellowes knows exactly where his characters would be. The writer revealed some information about Lady Mary’s future that’ll be very interesting to fans of the PBS drama.

First, Fellowes explained that Mary (Michelle Dockery) won’t have much trouble adjusting to the modern age because she’s very business-minded. She would make some major changes to Downton, though. “My own belief is that Mary, whether you like her or dislike her, is a hard worker, and she’s practical,” Fellowes told Deadline. “I think she will employ the kind of advice that she needs. She would probably have opened the house to the public in the 1960s, as so many of them did, and she’d have retreated to a wing, and maybe only occupied the whole house during the winters. My own belief is the Crawleys would still be there, just as the Carnarvons are today [in the real Highclere Castle, where ‘Downton’ was filmed].”

“Downton Abbey” ended happily in January and hinted at Mary’s future. She finally found love again and was pregnant with Henry Talbot’s (Matthew Goode) child. Fellowes warned that there would still be stressful times ahead though.

“I mean, George [Mary’s first son] would have gone to the Second World War, and of course the fear is that he would be killed,” the creator noted. While Fellowes hasn’t made up his mind yet, he seems optimistic about George living a long life. He isn’t so sure the title, Earl of Grantham, would survive though.

“As for the title, I don’t know where it would go beyond George, but let’s hope he gets through the war and has children of his own,” Fellowes said. “George was born in 1921, which makes him nine years younger than my father, and he only died in 1999. If he lived to the same age as my father, he’d have died in 2008, which takes us right into the modern age.”

There is a possibility that viewers will get to see the future Fellowes is describing. A “Downton Abbey” movie has been rumored since the final season was announced, but nothing has been made official. However, Fellowes has previously said that he is completely willing to write a screenplay. “I am certainly on board if there is one,” Fellowes told the New York Daily News earlier this year. “I think it is likely it will happen at some point.”

If the film is given the green light, it seems like viewers would get to see at least some of this future that Fellowes has envisioned for Mary. Of course, in order to show Mary, Dockery would have to reprise her role. Luckily, the actress revealed earlier this month that she is open to returning. “I think there is potential for a film,” she told the Telegraph. “That is something I would wholeheartedly consider, so we will see. It may not be over yet.”