A dark and thrilling look into gangland crime in Birmingham, set just after World War II, it was based on the real-life Peaky Blinders street gang who terrorised the city of the West Midlands, robbing ‘n’ racketeering, unleashing brutal violence on others and running illegal gambling set-ups.
The BBC show ran for six seasons from 2013 to 2022, and its creator, Steven Knight, made household names of the main actors, Cillian Murphy as the lead, Tommy Shelby; Anna Taylor-Joy, Sam Claflin, Joe Cole, the late Helen McCrory and the ever-expanded cast saw all sorts of brilliant other faces pop up, like Adrien Brody, Stephen Graham and Paddy Considine to name just a few.
Netflix got hold of Peaky Blinders’ rights and streamed it in the US, and just before the final series aired on the BBC, Knight first mentioned the idea of a PB film in January 2021 to Variety
“[The film is] in development. It’s a fully formed idea and it has a beginning, middle and end. And I think it’s going to be a fitting conclusion to the story told so far, but from it, there will be things I don’t really call spinoffs, but there will be other TV shows that I hope will come out of [it], that will continue to tell the story of this part of society and this family.”
The film – still unnamed at this point – was confirmed in June 2024, with Knight telling Deadline that the film would “be an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story. No holds barred. Full-on Peaky Blinders at war.” Murphy added: “It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me. It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders . This is one for the fans.”
Filming began in September 2024 and it all started rolling in Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham, and in St Helens, around the Pilkington Watson Street works. It was a relatively quick shoot for a film, as it was all wrapped by December 13, giving everyone a nice long Christmas break, presumably.
As for the film’s name, well, we’re still not entirely sure. It might be called The Immortal Man – this was apparently its working title when residents of filming locations were informed about the film shooting in their neighbourhood, and a make-up artist working on set appeared to reveal the name on their Instagram .
However, this is still yet to be officially confirmed, so for now, let’s just stick with calling it the Peaky Blinders movie . So, with the film in the can: that’s where we are right now, but what else can we expect from the film? Here’s everything we know so far.
Peaky Blinders the movie: release date prediction
(Image credit: Netflix)
It’s been a looooong old slog waiting for this film to hit the screen, and even now, Netflix won’t be drawn on when the actual release date will be, other than saying: “Soon”.
That kind of sounds like what a parent would say when they want to you stop asking about something. We’re presuming soon means “in 2025”, so we will let you know as “soon” as any better approximations of date are released.
Peaky Blinders the movie: trailer, is there one? Nope, not so much as a peek of a flat cap yet. Again, as soon as the trailer is released, we’ll bang it up here in all its glory.
Barry Keoghan and Cillian Murphy have a laugh on set the Peaky Blinders movie (Image credit: Netflix)
Peaky Blinders the movie: cast Well, obviously it wouldn’t be Peaky Blinders without Cillian Murphy, who returns once again as Tommy Shelby.
But the big interest is around new faces joining the gang, namely Barry Keoghan and Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth, whose roles have yet to be announced.
Other confirmed cast include:
First look of Barry Keoghan on set in Birmingham (Image credit: Netflix)
Stephen Graham as Hayden Stagg
Sophie Rundle as Ada Thorne, née Shelby
Ned Dennehy as Charlie Strong
Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs
Ian Peck as Curly
Jay Lycurgo
Meanwhile, Knight has teased that there are even more famous names to come, calling the cast list “mindblowing” .
Peaky Blinders the movie: plot
(Image credit: Netflix)
We’re moving into further war territory in the film, with Knight revealing that it’s set in World War II. He told Deadline
So for the film, it’s actually set in World War II which I think I probably wouldn’t have done for series 7; I’d have probably taken it up to the war but because it’s a movie then I think we need a sort of gear change.”
Knight reiterated this again in September 2024, and when filming began, he told Netflix: “I’m thrilled to see the cameras rolling on this new chapter of the Peaky Blinders story, set during World War II. The country is at war, and so, of course, are our Peaky Blinders.”
The Peaky Blinders-verse: future
(Image credit: BBC)
As the world of Shelby and co. jumps from the BBC over to Netflix for the feature-length story, the streamer seems to suggest that there could be more after The Immortal Man, which is very fitting, given the name of the film.
Netflix have billed the film as “an epic continuation” of the Peaky Blinders-verse, while Knight has called it “an explosive chapter”, which suggests that there could be more to follow.
Speaking with Esquire
And he confirmed that the film won’t be the end of PB in an interview with Times Radio in December 2024. He said: “Well, it’s interesting you should ask that question because the film is coming out and that won’t be the end. It won’t be the end, let me put it that way. I’m not saying none of it.” Watch this space!
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