Even after almost ten years, Matthew Crawley’s death in the Christmas special of ‘Downton Abbey’ remains one of the most shocking and tragic deaths in the history of the British series. Let’s find out if Dan Stevens will be part of the ‘Downton Abbey 2’ movie!
Dan Stevens is best known for his portrayal of Matthew Crawley in the television series ‘Downton Abbey‘. Stevens’ character was the heir to the Earl of Grantham title as well as the Downton Abbey land. He also married Lady Mary (played by Michelle Dockery). Fans were shocked to learn of his sudden demise in the ‘Downton Abbey’ Season 3 finale. He died in a car accident on his way to meet his newborn son, George Crawley. In the year 2012, Stevens’ character dies. Even after all these years, many continue to wonder why Dan Stevens left ‘Downton Abbey’.
HIGHLIGHTS —
- Why did Dan Stevens leave ‘Downton Abbey’?
- Will Dan Stevens be part of the ‘Downton Abbey 2’ movie?
- Creator Julian Fellowes wanted to give Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary a happy ending
Why did Dan Stevens leave ‘Downton Abbey’?
During its run, ‘Downton Abbey’ quickly became a fan favourite. Its immense popularity led the network to release a ‘Downton Abbey’ movie in 2019. After the end of season 3, fans were quick to voice their disappointment on social media. They blamed both Dan Stevens and the showrunners of ‘Downton Abbey’.
Since the final episode of season 3, Dan Stevens frequently apologizes for the decision. While recently talking to The Australian, Dan confessed that he left ‘Downton Abbey’ because he wanted more variety in his career. Stevens also admitted that he was worried that he would get typecast as the period drama actor. On the screen, he wished to play various other characters. But no one was sending him different roles.
In an interview with Collider, Dan shared: “There were a few kinds of World War I trenches scripts coming in. And, you know, particularly in England, there are a few narrow bands of things that get made over there, in comparison to say, in America”. He jokingly mentioned being part of the bracket of actors that do posh house dramas, World War I dramas, and anything with floppy hair! So he came to America.
Further in the interview, Stevens shared that he had no idea that ‘Downton Abbey’ would become that big. “It was a real challenge, just the number of people involved, I think with that show. You had 20 main characters, plus the house”!
Dan Stevens confessed that when he started working on ‘Downton Abbey’, it felt very much like any other British period drama that they were making. Nobody would have imagined going into episode 1 of the show that, ‘Oh, here comes this freak phenomenon that is gonna be the biggest watched TV show in Spain ever’. When they began, it was just an upstairs and downstairs story set in a fancy English house. At that time, they had no idea what ‘Downton Abbey’ was going to become.
Will Dan Stevens be part of the ‘Downton Abbey 2’ movie?
In another interview with Digital Spy, Dan Stevens shared that people often ask if he will reappear in the upcoming ‘Downton Abbey’ movie. To which he mentions that he left the show eight years ago. So when people ask him if his character is in the movie? He replies: “Did you watch the show? Do you know how that ended? They still hope that I will appear in a shower scene of some form. But I am incredibly grateful for everything that that role and that show gave me.”
Since leaving ‘Downton Abbey’, Dan Stevens has appeared in series like ‘Legion’ and ‘High Maintenance’. He was recently part of ‘The Call of the Wild’ alongside Harrison Ford and ‘Eurovision Song Contest’ on Netflix. Stevens will also be lending his voice in an upcoming animated series called ‘The Prince’.
Creator Julian Fellowes wanted to give Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary a happy ending
The creator of ‘Downton Abbey’ had earlier shared that Dan Stevens was determined to leave America. Fellowes wanted to give Matthew Crawley and Lady Mary a happy ending but had no choice as Dan did not want to stay. He even tried persuading Stevens to come back for just one episode of the next season, but he wanted to go off to America.
‘Downton Abbey 2’ movie will reportedly release in March of next year. Tell us if you wish to see Dan Stevens appear in the movie in the comment section below!
