“Downton Abbey” creator Julian Fellowes is mulling over a prequel to the latest British upstairs-downstairs series. His idea is an origin story, centering on “the courtship between Robert and Cora.” He mused about the history of Lord and Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern and Hugh Bonneville) at a BAFTA screenwriting lecture reported by the Daily Mail:
“It is a fascinating time when the Buccaneers were coming to England and marrying [aristocrats]… He married her purely for the money. I think that is something he came to feel quite guilty about.”
Fellowes also hinted at bringing the Downton characters to the stage or the big screen, but any plans will wait until the series has concluded. “Downton Abbey” has just started its third season on ITV in the UK; impatient stateside viewers must wait until January 2013, which has inspired some protest, in this day-and-date, ‘we-want-it-now’ era, as to why we can’t see the show–which adds American Shirley MacLaine to mix it up with Maggie Smith– at the same time as the Brits.
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