Peaky Blinders director Anthony Byrne has confirmed the upcoming finale will have a feature-length run time to ensure the show goes out with a bang.
The director shared the news amid the ongoing sixth and final season of the series which began airing last month, with episodes airing on BBC One every Sunday.
After almost 10 years, the series is set to come to an end with the finale on 3 April, but it looks set to be a memorable ending with Byrne revealing the final episode is 'very different' to those that came before it.
"It feels very, very different to the rest of the season. It feels very, very different to anything we've done before. It's very epic in scope. It feels like a film - it's a kind of dry run for the feature film," Byrne told the Radio Times.
The director confirmed the run-time for the upcoming episode is set to be a whopping 81 minutes, providing fans with an extra 21 minutes of content to soak up before the Peaky Blinders are no more - well, at least on the small screen.
As Byrne mentioned, a Peaky Blinders film is officially in the works, with creator Steven Knight confirming last year the project will go into production in 2023.
The creator has previously told the Radio Times the film 'offers up all sorts of possibilities for some incredible cast', which may come as good news for some fans who have so far been disappointed with the final season.
Byrne defended the direction of the series in the latest episodes, arguing the final season is a "character piece about the darkness of Tommy Shelby's soul and it's how far down is he going to have to go before he can get out."
"And will there be any left of him? That's what it is for me. And audiences who love the character will go with it because they're on a journey with this guy, with Tommy Shelby," he said.
"There's always going to be an element of people who want just the same stuff, but we're not in it for that because it has to evolve, and it has to change. And it has to challenge the audience's expectations and take you on a far deeper experience than you're expecting to go."
The next episode of Peaky Blinders is set to air on BBC One on Sunday, 27 March.
Topics: Cillian Murphy, BBC, Entertainment and Film, Peaky Blinders, Films and TV
Emily Brown