After the series finale in 2022, we gather all the available information about the continuation in the form of a movie. How will the story continue? Will Tommy Shelby return? In what era will it be set?
The Peaky Blinders gang has said goodbye to television with the finale of the sixth season of ‘Peaky Blinders’ (released on Netflix in June 2022), but this farewell has a trick: a movie is already in the works that will continue the story of the Shelbys and answer the questions left after the series finale. Fans can breathe easy because we will see Tommy and company again to resolve some doubts (but what does Tommy whisper to Duke at the end of ‘Peaky Blinders’?). Here we gather all the details: release date, synopsis, cast… and we will keep it updated!
Created by Steven Knight for the BBC and distributed by Netflix, ‘Peaky Blinders’ follows the criminal plots of a gang from the underbelly of Birmingham, England, operating under the leadership of Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy (by the way, do you know what the ‘Peaky Blinders’ protagonists are like in real life?).
Throughout its six seasons, we have witnessed numerous confrontations with other mafias and all kinds of personal dramas, and we will continue to do so in the movie. Perhaps the ending of ‘Peaky Blinders’ disappointed Arthur Shelby and left us with numerous unanswered questions, but we hope the movie will make up for it all.
However, two events have significantly changed the fate of the story: the COVID pandemic and the death of Helen McCrory, who played Polly. The former slowed down the filming schedule for the sixth season and ultimately led to the cancellation of the seventh season of ‘Peaky Blinders,’ which was planned before the arrival of a possible movie. The latter, the actress’s passing, occurred in April 2021 right at the time of filming and forced the writers to restructure the entire story without the character.
From now on, with season 6 of ‘Peaky Blinders’ already available (and among the best series on Netflix in 2022), we will see how the story evolves. There are many questions: when will the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie arrive? And what would its synopsis be? And the cast? Will the legendary Cillian Murphy return, or has he been left behind? We gather everything we have on this project, which leaves behind one of the best period series on Netflix and a favorite among fans.
‘Peaky Blinders,’ the movie release date:
Steven Knight said in 2021, when the project had not yet been confirmed, that “the line between film and television is blurry, or sometimes it is blurry. I love making films, but as I say, I think film can be based on the short story like television can be on a novel. I would think about making a movie that maybe is set during World War II.” He already gave us the first clues for the film.
In an interview with Yahoo News on June 30, 2022, Knight was asked to provide some insight into the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie, and he replied: “It’s almost ready. And I’m going to shoot it in Birmingham; in Digbeth. And it’s going to be great. And it’s going to have Cillian [Murphy] and all the usual suspects. So yes, I’m looking forward to it.”
In statements to Birmingham World in early 2024 for the premiere of his new BBC drama, ‘The Town,’ ‘Peaky Blinders’ creator Steven Knight confirmed that recent Oscar winner for Best Actor 2024 for ‘Oppenheimer,’ Cillian Murphy, will reprise his beloved role in the upcoming film adaptation of the British crime drama. Knight definitively stated that Murphy will return and also announced the start of filming for the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie: September of this year, 2024.
The release date for the ‘Peaky Blinders’ movie will therefore be late 2025 or early 2026.
‘Peaky Blinders’: Will the movie be the final ending?
Initially, Knight wanted to end the series with the fifth season, but fortunately, he decided to change his mind and extend the story. As he explained at the time: “We were originally going to end the series with this season [the fifth], but I thought there are a lot of people we are going to introduce now. It would be a shame to stop.”
After the events of the pandemic, Knight stated in Deadline: “COVID changed our plans. But I can say that my plan from the beginning was to end with Peaky with a movie. That’s what’s going to happen.” He added: “Part of the reason is not that we are going to change anything about how we do it. Hopefully, by the time this movie comes out, those things will be possible, the people who have made the series, the loyal and committed Peaky fans, could sit down and watch it together. Hopefully, a kind of community event where people can sit, watch it, and enjoy it on the big screen.”
Moreover, the creator has previously stated that the ending will arrive with a very specific moment in history: with the first air raid siren in Birmingham that occurred in 1939. Since the series has been planned from the beginning to cover the period leading up to World War II, it makes sense that the plot of the movie will cover the entire moment leading up to the conflict without directly involving it. It would undoubtedly be a fitting epic setup to jump to the big screen.
‘Peaky Blinders,’ the movie: synopsis
One of the clear intentions Knight has, as he has previously expressed, is to “redeem” Tommy Shelby by the end of the story: “My intention has always been to redeem him so that in the end he is a good man doing good things. Discovering how that journey happened, why it happened, and dealing with all the post-traumatic stress from World War I.” Therefore, this change in direction could be one of the central themes of the film’s plot, which we have already begun to see in the sixth season finale of the series.
But where would the story take place? We must take into account the passage of time. By the time World War II begins, Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson) would be around 49 and 52 respectively, which would place them out of the recruitment group, or at least at the beginning of the war. This means that the two protagonists would not go to war, and thus the film would not revolve around battle scenes, but we would remain in Birmingham.
The relationship with the war could come through the younger protagonists: Finn, Ada’s son, Karl Thorne, Tommy’s own son, Charlie, and also his illegitimate son, Duke. All of them would be of age to become soldiers. After all, the older characters are well aware of the scars that war leaves, so having to face the situation of seeing their own children heading into the same experience could create an intriguing and suitable environment for the post-traumatic stress that Knight wants to address to come back stronger than ever.
‘Peaky Blinders,’ the movie: the cast
It is clear that we could not talk about ‘Peaky Blinders’ without Tommy Shelby. The character embodied by Cillian Murphy is the vital representation of the series, so if the movie wants to maintain the connection with the series, his character will be present, in greater or lesser measure. With the actor now also as an executive producer on the series, it makes sense that he wouldn’t want to separate from the story too soon.
In addition, we can expect the rest of the Shelby family: Paul Anderson (Arthur Shelby), Sophie Rundle (Ada Thorne), and the newly added Conrad Khan (Erasmus, better known as Duke), Tommy’s illegitimate son. We also anticipate a major conflict with Harry Kirton (Finn Shelby), who has been expelled from the family. And also the villainous Sam Claflin (Oswald Mosley), who plays the fascist who has deceived Tommy and will now likely have to suffer his vengeance.
We do not know if we will see Natasha O’Keeffe (Lizzie) again, who was not very keen on a movie a few years ago. “I think at this moment what would work would be the format of six episodes per season, because it moves through large periods of time between seasons, and it works. You get a snapshot of their lives, and then they go. It could be a movie, but I think the TV series is a better place right now. It’s one of the shows we should really be proud of, and it works in this long format.”
It has also been confirmed that Stephen Graham’s character, Hayden Stagg, will appear in the movie. And also Polly. In statements to RadioTimes, Steven Knight said: “Helen was so brilliant. When something happened in the rest of the series, I wanted people to think, ‘What would Polly say?’ It’s like in a family, when someone passes away, their opinion remains in the house. Polly’s opinion is going to last.”
Knight also announced that there would be new additions: “What we want to do is continue surprising people and keep bringing in new talent. Because it’s all out there, and there’s a kind of consistency: what we’re doing is finding really good working-class actors and telling that story.”
