Will 'A New Era' Be The Last 'Downton Abbey' Film?

Now that Downton Abbey: A New Era has been in theaters for a month and reached streaming, most fans know that the film's ending is, well, rather final. Even though the series sets up the possibility of other stories, the "New Era" of the title also means the passing of the old. While some might argue it's long overdue for the series to lose a central character or two, it also feels like the story has reached a natural endpoint. At least, that's what actor Hugh Bonneville, who plays Robert Crawley, believes, suggesting this will be the last installment.

Warning: Spoilers for Downton Abbey: A New Era follow.

The Dowager Countess is dead; long live Lady Violet Crawley, she of the unawareness of weekends and who finds rolling chairs confusing. Maggie Smith, who played the Dowager since the show's inception, has long made fun of how old her character must be in the world of the show by the end of the series' run, insisting she must be 101 by now. (Actually, as the show's lore puts Violet's birthday at 1842, she was 86.) The Dowager Countess of Grantham's funeral was a grand affair, bringing the film to a sad yet fitting close, from Violet's last words, "I can't hear myself die," to Lady Mary's taking up her brooch like a mantle to carry on the tradition.