Downton Abbey is being made into a movie

Downton Abbey, the much-loved PBS Masterpiece Classic series, is officially coming back as a movie. Filming is slated to start in September, though a release date and cast have yet to be announced.

Series writer Julian Fellowes is onboard to write the script, which will be produced with Carnival Films. WWD reported that Fellowes was "so hopeful that the series would be made into a film that he wrote a script in advance just in case."

Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager Countess Violet Crawley, seemed less excited about the prospect of a film when asked about the possibility last month. "I just think it's squeezing it dry, do you know what I mean?" she said. "I don't know what it could possibly be."

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The series ended two years ago after a six-season run.