Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has confirmed that Cillian Murphy will return as the iconic Tommy Shelby in the upcoming film.
The beloved show finished up almost two years ago now with the season six finale, with a film on the cards and set to begin filming in September.
Knight has previously been quite tight-lipped about whether or not Murphy will return as Tommy Shelby, especially now the Irishman is a newly minted Oscar-winner.
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For fans of the show, however, we have good news – Cillian Murphy is coming back.
In an interview with Birmingham World, the creator of the Shelby family story confirmed in a red-carpet interview that Murphy was following up his Oppenheimer win by once again donning his iconic flat cap.
Knight said: “He definitely is returning for it. We're shooting it in September just down the road [from the red-carpet event in Birmingham] in Digbeth.”
In his interview with the local newspaper, promoting his new show The Town, the writer-director also praised Murphy’s Oscar win.
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He said: “It was so deserved. I mean he's brilliant, and he's such a great human being.
“He deserves everything he gets."
Steven Knight and the Peaky Blinders cast have remained tight-lipped about the specific details surrounding the film, so this update is a massive one.
Knight previously said in an interview with The Guardian: “The writing and making of the film will tell us where we should go next.
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“Whatever happens, the Shelby criminal dynasty won’t be hanging up its hats – the ones with razor blades in the brim, that is – for a good while yet.”
For those living under a rock, Peaky Blinders is the story of a Birmingham crime families rise to power, starting as petty criminals and rising to be one of the most influential in the country.
The final season was hit with a sudden tragedy, however, with actress Helen McCrory tragically dying from cancer between the filming of the fifth and sixth season.
She played Polly Gray, an integral part of the show.
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Creator Steven Knight spoke with glowing praise of the actress following her passing, telling Radio Times ahead of season six: “The loss of the human being, the loss of Helen is the tragedy. That’s the thing. The loss of the character is infinitesimal compared to that. However, it’s our job to deal with that.
“To begin with, Polly was in the series and then incrementally bit by bit, it became apparent that there was less and less she would be able to do. And so in the end, we’d reached a point where we knew that she couldn’t be in it at all.
“And then you have to first of all deal with the consequences in terms of the story, taking a moment to deal with the loss of the character, but then knowing that that has a reflection in the real world with the loss of the person. So it was trying to balance all of that, and I think we’ve done it right.”
Topics: Peaky Blinders, Cillian Murphy, Oscars
Michael Slavin