There’s been some doubt surrounding whether Cillian Murphy would reprise his role as Tommy Shelby OBE now that he’s won an Academy Award (and doubts surrounding the long-discussed Peaky Blinders movie, period). Thankfully, series creator Steven Knight has stepped in to allay those concerns and provide a crucial update.
“He definitely is returning for it,” Knight said of the Oppenheimer leading man (via Indiewire).
“We’re shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth [Birmingham].”
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Cillian Murphy himself has previously expressed an interest in the Peaky Blinders movie — on the condition that it’d be of a certain standard and not just cheap fan service for those who enjoyed the hit BBC/Netflix crime drama (“It has to be right.”).
“If there’s more story there, I’d love to do it,” he explained to Rolling Stone back in 2022.
“Steve Knight wrote 36 hours of television, and we left on such a high. I’m really proud of that last series. So, it would have to feel legitimate and justified to do more.”
Clearly, the talented Mr Knight has fulfilled the criteria.
Steven Knight told Esquire: “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.”
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As some of you may recall, the Peaky Blinders movie was initially slated to begin rolling cameras sometime last year. In light of the main cast’s packed schedules; Knight’s own commitment to what feels like a brand new series each month in addition to a yet-to-be-disclosed Star Wars film; plus the Hollywood strikes… the production has obviously been delayed.
In related news, a few months ago, it was reported that Netflix had greenlit two spin-off properties for development — one set in Boston during the middle of the 20th century (a few decades after the events of the original storyline); the other on the rise of the late Helen McCrory’s Shelby clan matriarch, Polly Gray.
Hopefully, they’ll be enough to make up for a divisive final season of the flagship series.
