A couple of years ago, veteran British actors like Dame Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Dame Maggie Smith all starred in the light-hearted drama The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012).

The film ended up being a surprise box-office hit which led to Fox Searchlight Pictures making the shrewd decision to commission an unlikely sequel.

Entitled The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, the trailer for the follow-up has premiered online.

Directed again by John Madden (Shakespeare in Love, The Debt), the story sees hotel host Sonny (played again by Slumdog Millionaire’s Dev Patel) deciding to open up a new hotel following the success of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful. This leads to his veteran customers returning to help him with his venture although the project threatens to cause problems with his upcoming marriage.

Dench, Nighy and Smith all reprise their roles from the original film alongside Celia Imrie (Bridget Jones’s Diary, Calender Girls), Penelope Wilton (Shaun of the Dead, Downton Abbey) and Ronald Pickup (The Mission, Lolita).

Experienced American actors Richard Gere (Pretty Woman, Chicago) and David Strathairn (Good Night and Good Luck, Godzilla) are the casting newcomers amongst the British ensemble.

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will be released in the UK on February 27th 2015.