On Friday, Anglophiles rejoiced to learn that the “Downton Abbey” movie is finally going into production.
But not every character is headed back to Highclere Castle.
Lily James, who played Lady Rose, told People magazine that she would not be in the film.
“My character Rose moved off to New York, so it would be farfetched to bring her back,” she says.
James, 29, has had a lucrative film career since leaving PBS’s “Downton.” She appeared in “Baby Driver” opposite Ansel Elgort, plays the young Meryl Streep in the forthcoming camp fest “Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again” and is currently filming a top-secret Danny Boyle film.
Yet she says that her absence from the “Downton” film was not a matter of finding the time to do it.
“I would have loved to come back for a scene, but for a movie, it can’t be like a Christmas special and it needs to be a focused storyline. There was no space for Rose.”
Meanwhile, James’ former co-stars Michelle Dockery (Lady Mary) and Joanne Froggatt (Anna) have tweeted that they are “thrilled” and “delighted” to be back on set.
