Steven Knight confirms Finn Shelby's fate after actor explained absence from movie
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man brings back the beloved BBC series with a big budget Netflix movie, however the film leaves out some key characters.
Arthur Shelby, for one, is noticeably absent, with actor Paul Anderson posting on Instagram addressing not being in the film.
Beyond Arthur, there are a host of characters whose absences have been addressed by Steven Knight, with the creator saying Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomon almost came back ‘as a ghost’ and Knight also explaining why Tommy’s ex-wife Lizzie wasn’t brought back.
Arguably, the most surprising omission, however, is that of Finn Shelby, the younger brother of Tommy, Arthur, and Ada, who is banished from the Peaky Blinders in the show’s finale.
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Many fans questioned whether Finn had actually died off screen similarly to Arthur due to a line in which Tommy says ‘all his brothers are dead’, but Steven Knight has clarified what actually happened to the youngest Shelby brother.
Finn survived according to Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight
It appears that when Tommy said that he was just being a tad dramatic, as Steven Knight has confirmed that Finn survived the end of the series despite not showing up in The Immortal Man.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Knight was asked about characters he wanted to bring back but couldn’t stating that the film was ‘very focused on Tommy and Duke as the twin engines of this thing’, stating there wasn’t room for several characters.
He said: “The thing is, if you bring a character like Lizzie back, you’ve got to spend time with them. You can’t just gloss over.”
When asked about Finn however Steven Knight simply confirmed that he was alive and was in Liverpool.
Steven Knight’s response gives a major hint to the upcoming Peaky BIinders sequel series
Finn is never shown in Liverpool in the show or the movie, even when Stephen Graham’s Hayden Stagg makes a brief appearance towards the end of the film, which means one of two things: Steven Knight made a throwaway comment about the character, or he has plans already in place for the character.
The upcoming sequel series is set in 1953, 13 years after The Immortal Man, and Knight has already confirmed Duke Shelby and the ‘next generation’ of Shelbys will be the focus.
Whilst fans have also suggested that Charles Shelby, Tommy’s other son who returns for his funeral in the film, could play a major role, Finn would be a natural villain for the series.
The youngest brother always lived in the shadow of his older brothers and was eventually banished from the Peaky Blinders by Duke himself, promising to come back and get revenge on Tommy’s son for it.
Finn’s actor Harry Kirton is unlikely to come back for any sequel series
Both Finn and Duke are unlikely to be played by the same actors if they do appear, with Barry Keoghan already having shot down the idea of him returning.
Harry Kirton however stated during press for season six he wasn’t interested in returning for the film, making it incredibly unlikely he’d be up for a sequel series.
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.”
Topics: Peaky Blinders, Netflix, TV and Film, Film, TV
Michael Slavin