[TVline] Who’s up for a spot of tennis with the Crawleys? Focus Features on Wednesday released an official first look at Downton Abbey: A New Era, the highly anticipated follow-up to the series’ 2019 big-screen debut — and it’s just as elegant as you’re imagining.Returning for Downton Abbey’s second movie are original cast members Hugh Bonneville (Robert), Laura Carmichael (Edith), Jim Carter (Carson), Brendan Coyle (Bates), Michelle Dockery (Mary), Kevin Doyle (Molesley), Joanne Froggatt (Anna), Matthew Goode (Henry), Harry Hadden-Paton (Bertie), Robert James-Collier (Thomas), Allen Leech (Branson), Phyllis Logan (Mrs. Hudges), Elizabeth McGovern (Cora), Sophie McShera (Daisy), Lesley Nicol (Mrs. Patmore), Maggie Smith (The Dowager Countess), Imelda Staunton (Lady Bagshaw) and Penelope Wilton (Isobel).
Also along for the ride are Nathalie Baye, Hugh Dancy, Laura Haddock and Dominic West.
One character you shouldn’t expect to see is Rose, played by Lily James. The character was noticeably M.I.A. from the first movie, but as the actress admitted, "My character ... moved to New York, so it would be farfetched to bring her back. I would have loved to have come back for a scene, but for a movie it can’t be like a Christmas special. It needs to be a focused storyline. There was no space for Rose."