'Downton Abbey' Spoilers: Lady Rose Leaving Series
Another actress is leaving "Downton Abbey" at the end of season five, but her leaving will not be permanent, like so many before her. Lily James, who plays Lady Rose, will take a breather from "Downton Abbey" to star in Disney's new version of "Cinderella," which is due out next Easter.
Julian Fellowes has promised not to kill off Lady Rose as he has Lady Sybil and Matthew Crawley. He reportedly likes having James around and wants to give her the option to return, so she will be written off-screen but not fully out of the picture. There's no word yet on how Lady Rose will be written out of the series just yet, but the writers have plenty of time given that they will not resume filming anytime soon. And there is talk that James will return for the traditional Christmas special, which always brings in huge numbers of viewers.
Disney requested that James be available for promotional events given that she is the title character in the new make of "Cinderella." She will star alongside "Game of Thrones" actor Richard Madden, Cate Blanchett as the wicked stepmother and Helena Bonham Carter as the fairy godmother. It's a huge break for the actress who is excited to join the project first pitched in 2010 and will be directed by Mark Romanek. The film was teased at this year's CinemaCon.
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Disney has decided to focus on more live-action movies rather than the traditional cartoon, or animated films. This month will be a great test for the empire, with "Maleficent," starring Angelina Jolie being released. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the remake of "Sleeping Beauty," and Disney has been faithfully keeping fans chomping at the bit for the release.
"There aren't many people who could have pulled off this iconic role, and for us there was only one," Walt Disney Studios' Dave Hollis said of Jolie at CinemaCon.
