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Role Call: Will Minerva Sing for Downton?

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Rumor alert, Downton fans! Word has it that some of the cast from Downton Abbey will be taking part in a musical adaptation of the popular PBS series, with creator Julian Fellowes and series composer John Lunn attached. Will we see Dame Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall) reprise her role as the Dowager Countess in the musical? We hope so! Lunn reportedly told the Independent of London,

There’s talk of Julian Fellowes and I and some of the cast doing a live tour the way Dr. Who did; 70 percent of it will be music from the show. There might be some Elgar, there might be some jazz of the periods. Some of the actors will likely recite. We’ll have a screen. We may have the music live to several scenes. Julian may be the host. I’d say it’s a 75 per cent chance it will happen.

Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort) will be returning to the director’s chair late next year, to helm a feature film scripted by David Hare. The film will focus on a specific event in the life of Rudolf Nureyev, a famous Russian ballet dancer who defected from the Soviet Union against the wishes of the KGB. Production appears to have secured the rights to the book Nureyev: The Life, by Julie Kavangh.

Recently announced is an addition to the Outlander cast that we might recognize! Frances de la Tour (Madame Maxime) has been cast in the television adaptation of the book series in the role of Mother Hildegarde.

For those familiar with the Outlander series by author Diana Gabaldon, Mother Hildegarde is the Mother Superior at the L’Hopital de Anges in the second book of the series, Dragonfly in Amber.

How Timothy Spall (Peter Pettigrew/Wormtail) has time to take on another role, we’ll never know! It appears as though the actor is in talks to play Sir Ian Paisley in The Journey, a fictional account of an unlikely political duo. You can read a synopsis of the film below:

… firebrand Democratic Unionist Party leader Paisley and Sinn Fein politician Mark McGuinness – who are forced to take a short journey together in which they will take the biggest leap of faith and change the course of modern history. It is at this moment the two sworn enemies put their past actions behind them and begin to forge a friendship that would lead to them being known as “The Chuckle Brothers.”

It looks like fans of Jim Broadbent (Horace Slughorn) may get to see the meaner side of the actor this Christmas season, as he has been rumored to possibly take on the role of Scrooge in Noel Coward Theatre’s production of the classic A Christmas Carol. His role has not yet been confirmed, but we’re keeping a keen eye out!

Congratulations to Freddie Stroma (Cormac McLaggen), whose Lifetime Television scripted series UnReal has been picked up for a second season! No word on whether Freddie’s character Adam will be back next year since the show has only aired six episodes, but we will definitely be watching. If you’ve somehow missed the show, you can catch up on all episodes here. Freddie certainly wears a suit well!

Finally, one of our favorite MuggleNet Live guests has a film that is about to hit theaters and VOD Friday! Nat Tena‘s (Nymphadora Tonks) 10,000 km released a clip to promote the film about a couple who try to survive a long distance relationship when Alexandra, played by Tena, temporarily moves to Los Angeles to restart her photography career. Take a look at the subtitled clip below:

That’s all for this week’s Casting News! Are you excited about the prospect for a musical Downton Abbey? If you could write a song for the musical, what would it be called and who would be featured? Let us know by posting in the comments!