Peaky Blinders series creator Steven Knight has confirmed that Cillian Murphy will reprise his role for the follow-up film to the massive BBC/Netflix hit show, Deadline reported.
Knight also provided a timeline and said that the film is due to start production in September, according to the Birmingham World.
“He's definitely returning for it,” he said about Murphy.
“We're shooting in September just down the road in Digbeth [England],” Knight added.
Cillian Murphy returns to Peaky Blinders (The Movie)
Peaky Blinders originally aired on BBC Two, then moved to BBC One. It eventually made its way to Netflix, where it gained a global audience. The show is named after the Birmingham gang's (mis)adventures were chronicled after most of its members came back from fighting in World War I. Murphy played its leader Tommy Shelby, with the rest of the show's cast, which ran for six season from 2013 to 2022.
Over the last few years, and even more recently, Murphy has been vocal about his willing to reprise his role for a Peaky Blinders movie — only if the script were right. Knight, as well, has been equally enthusiastic in returning to the post-WWI world.
In an interview with Esquire in 2022, Knight said, “The film, I know exactly what it's about. And I know what two stories it's going to tell. What will happen after that, I want that to depend on the film. For all we know somebody is going to pop out — I think I know who it's going to be.”
For years, Shelby has been Murphy's most iconic role. This year, it's competing with his Academy Award-winning turn as the titular Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's Oscar winning film. He also earned accolades from the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs.
There are currently two Peaky Blinders spinoff series in discussion: one decades after the original show which will be set in Boston, and the other will focus on the Shelby matriarch Polly (brilliantly played by the late Helen McCrory).
What happened to the Peaky Blinders?
So what will the movie be about then?
If you haven't seen the final season of Peaky Blinders, SPOILER ALERT!
The sixth season ended with Tommy saying goodbye to his family. In seclusion, he then realizes that he was given a false diagnosis of an inoperable tubercoloma (and only 18 months to live). He had planned to kill his doctor, but chose peace instead. He returned to his house and watched his remaining possessions burn, and turns to ride away, presumable into the sunset.
The movie could go two ways: it could either be a prequel of the events before the series, meaning a story of the Shelby men during World War I and the beginnings of their gang.
Or it could be the new adventures of Tommy Shelby. Will the rest of his gang rejoin him? And speaking of the rest, what happened to them after everything that transpired in season six? The film could answer those questions.
We'll just have to wait and see what Knight and Murphy come up with as we draw near the production date.
In the mean time, the series creator also has another Irish project coming up: a drama series for Netflix about the prominent Guinness clan famous for their brewery.
Murphy, on the other hand, doesn't have future projects announced yet. His most recent film was Small Things Like These which premiered to critical acclaim when it was show at the Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival. He has also been confirmed to executive produce the sequel to his breakthrough movie, 28 Days Later. It currently has the working title 28 Years Later.
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