Spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6.
Peaky Blinders' movie has been officially confirmed. While Peaky Blinders season six will finish the TV show, the cancelled seventh season will be swapped for the film, according to the show's creator Steven Knight.
The show's writer and creator previously told Digital Spy about bringing Tommy Shelby's family to the big screen with a movie back in 2016 – but it was supposed to be after season seven.
He also explained: "We've talked to Cillian Murphy and he's all for it, and the rest of the principal cast are in for it."
Of course, this was all before the dreaded coronavirus, which impacted so many productions and led to their decision to scrap season seven. This was also before the tragic death of Helen McCrory, who played the saga's central matriarch Polly Shelby.
Steven Knight teased that Peaky Blinders' story would continue "in another form" when season six was announced, before soon confirming to Deadline: "Covid changed our plans. But I can say that my plan from the beginning was to end Peaky with a movie. That is what is going to happen."
He added to BBC News: "Part of the reason, isn't because we're going to change anything about how we do it. Let's hope by the time this film is out that these things will be possible, the people who have made the show, the Peaky fans who have been so loyal and committed, might be able to sit and watch it together. Hopefully, a sort of communal event, where people could sit down, and watch it, and enjoy it on the big screen."
The Peaky Blinders movie doesn't have a name yet. But when would it be set? What sort of release date would it have? And will Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby return?
Well, we've woven together all the information out there, along with what the key players are saying about the Peaky Blinders movie.
Peaky Blinders movie potential release date: When would it hit cinemas?
Peaky Blinders season six ended on Sunday, April 3, 2022, with the show due to be released on Netflix around June 10, 2022.
The Peaky Blinders movie is set to go into production in 2023, according to Steven Knight, who told the BFI London Film Festival: "I am going to write the feature which will be set in and shot in Birmingham. And that will probably be the sort of the end of the road for Peaky Blinders as we know it."
However, he added that there's an opportunity for spin-off shows, which we'll address in more detail later.
It generally took six months to film, and another six months to edit a full series of Peaky Blinders according to season five and six director Anthony Byrne, so a two-hour film could be quicker.
However it's likely they'll want to have a huge cinematic experience with a grander production, as the show is used to operating with tight budgets on television, and generally, there was always a two-year gap between TV series releases.
So if the Peaky Blinders film follows a traditional Hollywood production schedule, it would likely wrap in 2023 or 2024, before making its way to cinemas in late 2024, or in 2025. But that's all just an educated guess at the moment.
Peaky Blinders movie: Will the film be the final ending?
Steven Knight has said the Peaky Blinders movie will be a "fitting conclusion to the story", although he has hinted that it'll spawn spin-off TV shows about some of the characters, as well as potential sequel movies.
He told BBC News: "We're talking about... I don't like the word spin-offs, but TV series that are going to be inspired by and include characters from Peaky."
He told Variety: "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."
Meanwhile, he told RadioTimes: "We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I'm calling 'the end of the beginning'. Let's end the beginning, then let's do the film. And then let's see where we go in terms of spin-offs."
We've already seen Peaky Blinders' ballet – The Redemption of Tommy Shelby – launch, along with a live-action theatre experience called Peaky Blinders: The Rise, plus numerous games and merchandise. So it feels like they have a lot invested in the saga still.
Steven Knight previously said that the show would end with the first air-raid siren in Birmingham in 1939, which didn't happen in the TV show, so perhaps we can expect that in the movie instead?
We also know that Knight hopes to"redeem" Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby by the end of the story, explaining: "My intention has always been to redeem him so that at the end he's genuinely a good man doing good things.
"And finding how that journey happened, and why it happened, and dealing with all the post-traumatic stress of the First World War, and never easing up on that."
We saw elements of Tommy doing that, with him demolishing his home to build houses for the poor, and refusing to kill the doctor who lied to him about his tuberculoma.
Peaky Blinders movie cast: Will Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby be in it?
Well, this is the golden question, isn't it? Tommy survived the season 6 finale, and it turns out he doesn't have the terminal tuberculoma, as that was a lie concocted by Oswald Mosley's fake doctor.
Steven Knight told Digital Spy that he did expect Tommy Shelby to be in the movie. This could be in flashbacks, or even in spirit, in the same way that Helen McCrory's Polly Gray has been referenced throughout series six. But it's very likely he would be fronting the film, given that he's the central character in the story.
And it seems that Polly's character is going to continue to reverberate through the movie, as Steven Knight told the RadioTimes: "Helen was so brilliant. When anything happened in the rest of the series, I wanted people to think, 'What would Polly say?'
"It's like a family when someone passes away, their opinion remains in the house. Polly's opinion is going to last."
Knight was asked if the same approach would be taken in the movie and he replied: "Absolutely. She's such a fundamental part of what Peaky is; her presence rules."
Speaking to Digital Spy, the creator explained they were already in conversations with "great actors" for the movie, and wanted to continue to focus on emerging talent.
He said: "There's so many people, so many great actors, that we are already sort of in conversation with for the film, and for whatever follows.
"But I think what we want to do is keep surprising people, and keep breaking new talent. Because it's all out there, and there is a sort of consistency – what we're doing is finding really good actors from a working-class sort of background, and telling that story."
The current cast of Peaky Blinders hasn't been confirmed for the movie as of yet. However, Steven Knight hinted to Metro that Stephen Graham's character Hayden Stagg would feature, which would make sense as he was absent from the season 6 finale.
It sounds like Graham might be reunited with his Line of Duty co-star Vicky McClure, as she has auditioned for every series of Peaky but never landed a role. However, Steven Knight has since offered for her to be in the film.
Speaking to Metro, he said: "I really want her in it! I don't know how we haven't managed to do that. She's brilliant and it's not a decision on anybody's part to say no because she's brilliant. We’d love to and we will put her in the film if she'll do it!"
Meanwhile, we spoke to some of the key cast about their interest in appearing in the movie.
Sophie Rundle, who plays Ada, seemed open-minded about the future. She told Digital Spy: "I think it's just something to explore as and when it comes up. Whatever happens after it, this feels like: this is the show. You know? How we've ended here, is the box-set. This is the legacy. This is the Peaky Blinders TV series in its original form.
"So I'm really proud to have seen it through, and to have that there, and to have Ada's journey there. And whatever happens next, we'll see."
Meanwhile, Finn Shelby actor, Harry Kirton, seemed conflicted about potential movies or spin-offs, telling Digital Spy: "With all due respect, I can't wait to channel and start a new avenue in my acting. I want to try and do stuff that's completely the opposite to Peaky.
"I don't want to be doing Peaky until my mid-to-late 20s, just because I reckon in the future that would be a hindrance for me. But, still inside me, though, I would love to continue that story.
"I'm keen to do it, but… I don't want to tarnish the lovely painting that has been painted by Cillian and the older gents and Steven himself. I would hate to come out with some half-quality sequel – not on their side, but potentially on my side."
Newer cast member Amber Anderson, who plays Diana Mitford, the wife of Oswald Mosley, told Digital Spy: "Oh, yeah! I love being part of Peaky, but I don't think anyone knows yet really what's happening with the film. I think Steve [Knight, show creator] has written it in his head, but I don't think anyone really knows for sure what's happening. So yeah, of course, I'd love to be part of it.
"Obviously, Diana was a real person who lived until she was 90. Everybody knows that. So in a very real sense, she lived for a long time, but it's just whether or not Steve wants her to be part of the Peaky world moving forward. I have no idea yet but I would love to be part of it."
Bizarrely another name that's been floated for the Peaky movie is Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland. After he revealed he failed to land a role following an audition for the show, Steven Knight invited him to join the film's cast.
Arthur Shelby actor Paul Anderson was unsure about the idea of a movie. Back in 2017, he exclusively told Digital Spy that he would consider it if the script was good enough.
"I don't know if a Peaky Blinders film would work, or can work. Maybe when it's sort of done, then maybe a movie? There is talk of it, and if I believed in the script enough, and thought it could work, then why not? But like I say, there's very few TV shows that do that.
"You wouldn't want to end a good TV series with a bad movie. That wouldn't be right. And TV's such a great medium. A movie is over in an hour and a half, or two hours, and you shoot it for four months or less, and then it's done. But we've been doing Peaky Blinders for four years now – four or five years. And I'd never spent much time with one character. It's really special."
Finn Cole (Michael Gray) won't be returning, after being shot dead by Tommy Shelby during the bombastic finale.
He previously told Digital Spy: "It's interesting. The way I look at it is you either see two hours of Peaky Blinders or six hours of Peaky Blinders, because they're all feature films in their own right."
Kate Phillips, who plays Linda Shelby and has already worked on TV show-to-movie adaptation Downton Abbey, felt Peaky Blinders is already very cinematic.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, she said: "This show would lend itself well to the big screen. It's shot with a very cinematic eye and I think it would translate really well. I think there's a huge amount of buzz around Peaky Blinders – I would be very excited to be a part of it, if it did go that way.
"I think what Julian Fellowes [Downton Abbey's writer] is doing so well with the Downton film is that there are so many storylines that are kind of knotted together. To have that play out for an hour and a half or two hours is quite a sophisticated thing to do.
"But it's worth trying because I think it can be very powerful and very punchy."
Back in 2019, Natasha O'Keeffe, who plays Lizzie Shelby, told Digital Spy: "I think that at the moment the format of six episodes per series – because it moves forward in big chunks of time between series – it kind of works. You get this snapshot into their lives and then they've moved on.
"It could be a film, but I think that, like, British TV is in such a good place at the moment that this is one of the shows we should really be proud of and it works on this long format."
As for a potential director, Anthony Byrne directed Peaky Blinders season five and six, so would be a logical choice, and he discussed the idea of returning for season seven before its cancellation.
He told Digital Spy: "There are other stories that I want to tell. It's a real gift to be able to step into that world and to bring your take on it... and have that accepted, is a real gift for any director.
"I love the cast, I love Steve's writing. It's the best show for me that's out there, so to be kind of part of its history, is great. When you're looking at it, it's years of time of your life that you're committed to something. The bottom line is that it's a huge gift, but it would be for any director."
As we mentioned above, Steven Knight has said he plans to "redeem" Tommy Shelby by the end of the story, so if that doesn't happen in the season six finale, you can bet he'll need to come back for the movie. However, we do have some theories, which could reduce how much we see Tommy in action...
Peaky Blinders movie plot: What would it be about?
The Peaky Blinders film might be a few years away, but it sounds like creator Steven Knight already has a solid idea of how it'll play out.
He told Variety in January 2021: "We are 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."
Then in March 2022, he told Metro he was still writing the story, adding: "I know exactly what's going to happen... it's a very specific story, that's based on a true story from the Second World War and will be told in the Peaky way."
Steven told Digital Spy the film will "move the world on, and then once we've moved the world on into the Second World War, we'll see where that takes us" while he told Empire it would also go "into and beyond the Second World War".
In an interview with Esquire, Knight said: "In series six we're bringing in the new generation, and they are going to be part of what happens in [the] film. I think it's finding those actors that you just watch and you think, there you go. There's the future.
"The film, I know exactly what it's about. And I know what two stories it's going to tell. How the story will unfold, I don't know. 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," Knight added cryptically.
The show has been planned to cover the lead up to World War II, so it stands to reason that the plot of any potential movie would cover that conflict. Plus, that would make a suitably epic setting for the move to the big screen.
However, the characters of Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson) would likely be around 49 and 52 respectively by the time WWII begins, which would put them outside the bracket for conscription into the forces. (50-year-olds were called up, but only after 1942, by which time both men would be over 50.)
By the end of season four, Tommy Shelby is already Labour MP for Birmingham South, and then joins the British Union of Fascists in season five, albeit as an infiltrator to take down Oswald Mosley and co. Assuming his political ascent continues, it seems more likely that he'd be fighting battles in Westminster than in the field.
Meanwhile, the younger members of the family will be at or near conscription age by 1939 – Michael will be 36, Finn around 31, Ada's son Karl Thorne will be roughly 20, while Tommy's son Charlie will be 17, and long-lost son, Duke Shelby, would be around 24.
Arthur's son Billy Shelby will be a young teenager, and don't forget there are John Shelby's kids. Joe Cole's character might have left the show, but he had at least two sons with Martha and Esme Shelby, who could possibly reappear. However, they weren't seen when Tommy encountered Esme in season 6, so perhaps they'll be forgotten altogether.
The concept of the elder Peaky Blinders having to face their own children heading into the horrors of war – knowing full well the true dangers and horrendous mental scars left behind – could make for an intriguing setting.
Speaking about Peaky Blinders covering World War II, Steven Knight said: "That's what I'm starting to think. I only recently started to think that, because I thought you couldn't really do it."
Jamie Glazebrook, who has worked as executive producer on Peaky Blinders since the very beginning, felt that some of the show's magic could be lost by simply making it bigger – but acknowledged the show already has movie stars and Steven Knight has worked in both film and TV.
Speaking to Digital Spy ahead of season five, Jamie said: "With a movie you'd be able to go big, but also… you have scenes where people talk in rooms, which you have a lot of [the] time in Peaky. You're imagining 80% of what you think you're seeing, because they're talking about the general strike – you never saw the general strike. They're talking about huge wars on racecourses, you don't really see them.
"That's part of the power in this mode of storytelling, so sometimes when you go big and you actually show everything your imagination goes, 'Oh my version of that was maybe more interesting'. I think they're such different genres, it would be interesting, but what's great is Steve can write both and we have a cast of movie stars, so we would be in a good position to do it."
Peaky Blinders spin-offs: What other Peaky TV shows are coming?
Peaky Blinders season six director Anthony Byrne told The Sunday Times: "Steve wants to do a spin-off show featuring younger Peakies who we might see potentially coming to London and causing havoc and maybe getting involved with other gangs." He then hinted to the publication those younger characters could emerge in series six.
Based on what we've seen so far, that would likely be Tommy Shelby's son, Duke Shelby (Conrad Khan), along with the new Peaky gang members who travel with Isiah and Arthur to Liverpool – Dougie Bill (Jack Parr), Gilly Ray (Stefan Healy), and Joe Ray (Ciaran Clancy).
However, some form of role for established younger gang members such as Isiah Jesus (Daryl McCormack) and Finn Shelby (Harry Kirton) would also make sense.
Meanwhile, Peaky Blinders' owner and executive producer Caryn Manderbach previously told Digital Spy: "I think the Peaky Blinders universe – as Steve wants to depict it – deserves to be plumbed again and again and again because he's so talented.
"It would be like telling Charles Dickens to stop writing his episodic work. I think all the universe he could explore, he should, until it's over."
Peaky Blinders movie trailer: When would we see it?
Well, given the back-of-an-envelope maths above, we wouldn't see a trailer for the movie until 2024 or 2025, as the film goes into production in 2023. Maybe get one of the Shelbys to consult with the spirits to see if they have a better idea, eh?
Peaky Blinders series 1-6 are available on BBC iPlayer, with series 1-5 available on Netflix.
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Editor-in-Chief -Digital Spy
Laurence Mozafari (he/him) is a multi-award winning journalist, editor, and presenter, currently Editor-in-Chief at Digital Spy, the UK's biggest TV and movies website.
Before that, he held roles as Editor, Deputy Editor, and Associate Editor focusing on news, social, and video.Laurence hosted the BBC Sounds podcast Obsessed with Peaky Blinders in 2019, as well as his own podcast production, Time of My Life, where he interviews fascinating elders about their life lessons, including Only Fools and Horses' Sir David Jason, Star Trek’s George Takei and Bridgerton’s Adjoa Andoh.
He was previously at Bauer Media working as Digital Editor of Heat magazine’s website, Heatworld.com, and has worked at and written for Sky, NME, Q magazine, Grazia, Closer, FHM and dedicated careers website GoThinkBig.
He secured a first-class BA journalism degree at Staffordshire University, along with several NCTJ qualifications, and now has 14 years' experience in digital publishing covering TV, movies, music, gaming, tech, showbiz, and travel.
Laurence has been a broadcasting contributor on television and radio, including KISS, Heat Radio, BBC Radio London, Radio 5 Live, and BBC Breakfast. He is also a visiting lecturer at various universities teaching journalism, including City, University of London, Nottingham Trent, Staffordshire University and London Metropolitan.
Laurence has won numerous awards in his journalism career, including the BSME Talent Award’s Best Deputy Editor, the PPA's 30 Under 30, and the New Editor and Editor of the Year at the AOP and BSMEs. He led Digital Spy to win PPA's Digital Content Team of the Year twice, along with the British Media Awards’ Brand of the Year in 2021.
Laurence joined the committee for the British Society of Magazine Editors in 2022. He has since hosted panels with CEOs of Immediate Media and the Media Trust at the PPA Festival, as well as presenting his own radio show on Green Man Radio at Green Man Festival in 2022. Laurence is also a Brits voting academy member. Laurence has been lucky enough to interview numerous celebrities, actors, and musicians throughout his career. Arnold Schwarzenegger loved his hair, Jimmy Carr loved his coat and Antonio Banderas gave a shout-out to his mum. Laurence has covered set visits for The Witcher on Netflix and Marvel’s Inhumans, he got Daisy Ridley to do a Chewbacca impression and loves Marvel, PlayStation, Glastonbury and craft beer.
