Finn Shelby's Peaky Blinders movie absence explained by actor
Today marks a great day for fans of Peaky Blinders after the movie that concludes a 13-year-long story has been released on Netflix.
Though Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man did release in cinemas earlier this month for many across the UK it was impossible to watch as Vue, Cineworld, and Odeon all did not show the movie due to its limited run.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man brings back several of the beloved characters that fans associate with the show, including Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby, Sophie Rundle as Ada Shelby, Ned Dennehy as Uncle Charlie, and Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs.
Conrad Khan doesn’t come back as Duke Shelby - the character is recast as Barry Keoghan for the movie. There are two other major names notably absent from the film: Finn and Arthur Shelby.
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In an exclusive interview with LADbible Arthur actor Paul Anderson opened up about not returning for the film and his character’s fate, but his absence is at the very least acknowledged in the movie.
Similarly to Arthur, the character of Finn is in all six seasons of the TV show, yet his character’s absence is not acknowledged in The Immortal Man.
The plot of season six sets up Finn’s absence
Many fans may not remember exactly what happened in season six on account of it having released four years ago, but the finale does partially explain Finn not being in the film.
In the finale Finn is given the task of shooting Billy, a traitor in the gang who informed the IRA about the attempted assassination of Oswald Mosley which ultimately leads to Aunt Polly’s death.
He instead turns his gun on Duke and Isaiah, leading Tommy’s son to attack him and banish him from the gang. This does however lead to Finn yelling that he will ‘come for’ Duke, something which is not followed up on in The Immortal Man despite Duke being the new leader of the Peaky Blinders.
The actor who played Finn was not interested in coming back for the film
Finn was played by Alfie Evans-Meese in season one of the show, but from season two onwards is portrayed by Harry Kirton.
The actor has spoken very positively about his time playing Finn on the show, saying in an interview on his Instagram that it shaped him ‘not only as an actor but as a person’.
In a separate interview though he stated his scepticism at the idea of returning. Speaking to Heatworld ahead of the release of season six, Kirton said: “It’s been an honour [to star in the show], I think the film I am not sure if I want to do just because of obvious reasons, I don’t want to be doing this into my mid to late 20s."
Speaking to Metro, he said he doesn’t want to be ‘pigeonholed’, adding: “If I continue to do this into my mid- to late-20s, I think I will prove to have quite a difficult trajectory in my career, potentially… So with all due respect, I want to move on and just keep that love.”
Finn Shelby could come back in the upcoming sequel series to get his revenge on Duke
Steven Knight has already confirmed that a further two seasons of Peaky Blinders are set to take place, with the story set in 1953, 13 years after the film.
Barry Keoghan has already confirmed that he wouldn’t want to try and continue the story of Peaky Blinders, but with where the film leaves off it seems unlikely that any follow up would be able to avoid Duke Shelby as the new leader of the Peaky Blinders.
As such, an easy way to approach it, particularly with a 13-year time jump, would be to recast both Finn and Duke and have the pair face off for control of Birmingham and the Peaky Blinders.
Finn would have been in his late 20s so his absence could be handwaved by saying he was conscripted for the war, but if the show doesn’t address his promise to make Duke pay – it will be a major failing.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is available to stream on Netflix now.
Topics: Peaky Blinders, Netflix, Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan, TV and Film, Film
Michael Slavin