“Downton Abbey” Will Make a Special Tribute to Dame Maggie Smith

The third, currently untitled, Downton Abbey film was always set to honor the Dowager Countess after the character’s death at the end of the second film, Downton Abbey: A New Era. Now, there are plans to pay tribute to the actress who brought her to life as well.

Dame Maggie Smith, who played Professor Minerva McGonagall in the Harry Potter films, died in September of this year at the age of 89. She first played the role of the Dowager Countess in the Downton Abbey TV show in 2010 before continuing until the show’s end in 2015 and taking up the mantle again for the first two Downton Abbey films.

Smith will be honored with a special tribute during the third and final Downton Abbey film, which is set to be released in September 2025. The film’s executive producer Gareth Neame shared with TVLine how he thought the loss made the film feel “more genuine and more meaningful,” as both the actors and their characters mourn the show’s matriarch, whether it be in the form of the Dowager or Smith herself.

The fact that Dame Maggie herself has now passed away since that time… has given a real added poignancy to a story that we would have planned anyway. 

There’s no information on what exactly this tribute will be, but the whole film will certainly be different without her. While Smith will be missing from the cast list, fellow Harry Potter alum Dame Imelda Staunton will still be in the third film. She wasn’t one of the many Harry Potter cast members who immediately commented on Smith’s death, but we may get something from her by way of tribute in this film.

Are you planning on watching the third and final Downton Abbey film when it is released on September 12, 2025?