Peaky Blinders film to start production

We loved it for six seasons, but the last episode of Peaky Blinders, aired in April 2022, left us with a bitter taste. After a series of speculations about a possible remake of the Shelby family story for the big screen, this week Netflix officially gave the green light for the production of a movie about the world's most-followed criminal family (after the Sopranos). With production by Cillian Murphy, the show's protagonist as the charming and dangerous Tommy Shelby, and a screenplay by the original creator Steven Knight, the film will be directed by Tom Harper, who worked on the second half of the first season of the BBC series as well as War & Peace and Heart of Stone. According to Deadline, filming in collaboration with the British production company will begin towards the end of the year.

Until Netflix's confirmation, the Peaky Blinders movie was a dream not only for all the fans of the series but also for the entire team involved in the project. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Murphy said he was willing to do anything to return to acting in the universe created by Knight. «If we want to see fifty-year-old Tommy Shelby, I'll be there. Let's do it», said the actor. Retracing the story of a criminal family, which from late 1800s Birmingham to the 1920s expanded its empire from the illegal betting market to politics, Peaky Blinders is inspired by a small real-life street gang: in popular narratives, it was said that the group members hid razor blades in the peaks of their caps as a weapon. Thanks to an impactful look and compelling storytelling, Steven Knight's Peaky Blinders have become a cultural phenomenon capable of influencing fashion and the lifestyle of the show's fans, from the widespread hairstyle sported by the protagonists to the creation of experiences evoking the series' aesthetics. In the United Kingdom and other parts of the world, festivals, video games, escape rooms, beauty products, and clothing lines (including sportswear) have been launched in honor of Peaky Blinders, a kind of subculture that, with the arrival of the new film, is ready for a resurgence.

Although Knight had previously stated to Deadline that after the series, in 2022, the film would depict World War II - thus continuing chronologically the historical events presented in the last season - the details of the new screenplay have not yet been communicated. However, the series creator has promised the publication that the new project will not disappoint expectations: «it will be an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story», said Knight. «No holds barred. Full-on Peaky Blinders at war». The excitement for the upcoming release is also shared by Murphy, who stated: «It seems Tommy Shelby wasn't finished with me. It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders. This is one for the fans.»