Allen Leech and Laura Carmichael are back as Tom Branson and Lady Edith Pelham in Downton Abbey: A New Era. The highly-anticipated sequel follows up Tom's engagement to Lucy Smith (Tuppence Middleton) in Downton Abbey's hit 2019 film with a wedding.
Tom and Lucy then join Lady Edith and her parents, Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) and Lady Grantham (Elizabeth McGovern) as they travel to the South of France to discover why Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess (Maggie Smith), mysteriously inherited a gorgeous seaside villa.
Screen Rant interviewed Allen Leech and Laura Carmichael about Tom and Edith's journeys in Downton Abbey: A New Era, leaving Lady Mary (Michelle Dockery) behind while they traveled to the South of France, and what they want to see happen in Downton Abbey 3.
Screen Rant: Allen, I have to say, Tom has to be the luckiest man in Downton at this point.
Allen Leech: At this point, maybe. In the history of the whole show as it's come, he's had his moments of bad luck, let's be honest. Wife died. [laughs] At this moment in time, he is lucky. But he also is a man who's caught in this world where he doesn't belong. He doesn't really agree with so many of the values that they hold dear, and suddenly, now, he is left with a villa to look after for his daughter, and he's like, "Oh man."
Laura Carmichael: It's never easy.
Allen Leech: How do I balance this with my values?
Such a burden!
Allen Leech: Yeah, but you're right, it's a nice burden to have.
Laura, Edith, throughout the series and the films, has had a remarkable story and a good bit of luck as well. Can you talk about Edith’s story in this film?
Laura Carmichael: Yes, she's become a mother again. She's had a baby boy. She's really excited, though, to get back to work. Which was cool to play. I feel like it's a story that we all feel and I think it really shows Edith as this sort of modern woman. She's in a really happy relationship with Bertie [Harry Hadden-Paton]. He really gets her and encourages her to keep writing.
You both leave Mary behind at Downton and get to go off to the South of France. What was the best part of filming in the Riviera?
Allen Leech: The Riviera! It was something that, when we read the script and we saw who was going, there was quick texting -- how to we break this [to Michelle]? Has Michelle read the script yet?
Laura Carmichael: Oh no. [laughs]
Allen Leech: It was so special to take Downton outside of the castle, and the world, and the Abbey that everyone knows so well and really expand the world that they've seen. I think it's pretty special. And we got to shoot in the South of France, which is pretty cool.
Was Michelle jealous when she saw you guys were going off and she had to man the fort?
Laura Carmichael: Yeah...
Allen Leech: I think she was silently *delighted* for us.
Laura Carmichael: I know, I know. In a different world, we could have all traveled together just for the jolly bit. Because of the COVID restrictions at the time, we had to be quite careful. We were quarantining when we got there. But, as you can imagine, that wasn't a hardship. We had basically ten days off in the South of France with your pals. We really had a great time.
If there's a third film, I would hope you guys are joining for the next one?
Allen Leech: Yes.
Laura Carmichael: I love that we're talking about it. Like, let's just make another movie, yeah.
In the next one, I hope Marigold [Eva and Karina Samms] and Sybbie [Fifi Hart] get bigger roles. They're getting older now.
Allen Leech: As you said, it's a new era. And it's their era, really.
Laura Carmichael: That's true.
Allen Leech: You're right, they should come to the fore. And possibly come to America, [to] visit Cora's family.
Laura Carmichael: That's our plan. That's our plot for the next one.
Allen Leech: We've been dropping that into conversations.
And Rose [Lily James] is in America too.
Laura Carmichael: That's true. Yeah, get Lily back on board.
Allen Leech: Yeah. Good idea.
Fingers crossed there is a third film. What do you hope to happen for your characters? Do you have a bucket list of something else you'd like to see happen to Tom and Edith?
Allen Leech: I love the idea of them coming to New York.
Laura Carmichael: I think that would be a great thing, yeah.
Allen Leech: I'd love to see what happens, to see that world at the start of the Wall Street crash of '29. And maybe they get stuck there at that time.
Laura Carmichael: We have thought about it. [laughs]
Allen Leech: We have, definitely. [laughs]
Laura Carmichael: We've been sending emails to Julian [Fellowes].
Allen Leech: The great thing is about what Julian writes is, whatever he has planned for your character is always very exciting to see. To see on the page and then to see it on screen.
Downton Abbey: A New Era Synopsis
The Crawley family goes on a grand journey to the South of France to uncover the mystery of the dowager countess's newly inherited villa.
Check out our interview with Downton Abbey stars Hugh Bonneville & Elizabeth McGovern, as well as composer John Lunn.
