The final season of Downton Abbey premieres later this year, so naturally fans are already wondering: Will a movie follow?

Some would argue that ITV’s major hit is coming to a close a little too early. With so many characters in Downton Abbey’s roster, the show could go on for several more seasons. Given it’s popularity in the U.K. and the U.S. (10.4 million watched the finale in the U.K., and an average of 25.5 million watched season 5 in the U.S.), it almost seems crazy for the show to leave our screens after only six seasons.

Luckily, Downton Abbey fans can hold on to this little ray of hope: The series’s creators aren’t opposed to shooting a movie after the final season. In fact, the cast is interested too.

Speaking to Deadline this week, Downton creator Julian Fellowes revealed that the show won’t be wrapping up every arc, and part of that decision stems from leaving the series open for future spinoffs.

“I think to have [the characters] all killed in a bus (in the finale) would be a mistake,” Fellowes said. “I think we bring various things to a conclusion and anything unresolved is unresolved. I’m open to the idea of a movie but I’m not anxious to do it.”

Fellowes said he’s hesitant about the idea of a movie because history indicates TV-shows-turned-movies don’t usually turn out well. “In my experience, and naming no names, the movie of the series is often a disappointment,” he said. “Normally they’re not very good because the film producer says, ‘Oh, it’s not going to be anything like the series,’ and of course what you want is for it to be exactly like the series. I hope we would avoid that error in doing one, but I do have mixed feelings about it.”

Producer Gareth Neame added more optimistically, “We are up for doing it, the cast is up for doing it. There are a lot of things to work out. We have the ambition to do it, but no firm plan about it or when it would happen.”

We think Downton Abbey may benefit from a multi-year gap in between the series finale and the debut of the movie. If they wait a few years, the show could take advantage of the all-important nostalgia factor.

Do you think ‘Downton Abbey’ should shoot a movie after the series ends?

Americans can expect Downton Abbey season 6 to air on PBS in early 2016, if history is any indication.