Cillian Murphy has some bad news for Peaky Blinders fans, giving a disappointing update on the development of a movie continuation. Murphy, who starred in the show for the duration of its six-season run as Tommy Shelby, suggests a film won't be hitting theaters any time soon.
Following the conclusion of the show's sixth and final season, talk of a movie began almost immediately, with Peaky Blinders showrunner Steven Knight confirming one was in the works. However, speaking with Rolling Stone, Murphy has cast doubt on the film's development; the actor said “If there’s more story there, I’d love to do it, but it has to be right." The hit drama, which first aired on the BBC in the UK before the global distribution rights were acquired by Netflix, was met with widespread critical acclaim — accumulating an average score of 93 percent on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The high bar set by the original series appears to be one cause for Murphy's reservations, as he continued "Steve Knight wrote 36 hours of television, and we left on such a high. I’m really proud of that last series. So, it would have to feel legitimate and justified to do more.”
Murphy's comments contradict previous reports and comments by Knight, who last said in July 2022 that a script for the film was near completion. Speaking on the Heart Breakfast show, Knight said "Yes, I’m writing it right now. I’m nearly done writing it, and we’re going to shoot it… I’m setting up some film and television studios in Digbeth in Birmingham.” Of the intended shooting location, he continued "We’re going to shoot it at the studios in Digbeth, and on location in Digbeth in Birmingham. Digbeth and Small Heath are where the Peaky Blinders actually roamed. So it’s like Peaky’s coming home basically.” The showrunner even said, "I’m hoping that we’ll be shooting in… within 18 months." However, since his comments, Knight has been hired to write a Star Wars film centered on Daisy Ridley's Rey, with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy slated to direct — that is to say, Knight's priorities may currently lie elsewhere.
Murphy Heads Back to the Big Screen This Summer for Oppenheimer
While it seems audiences may have to continue to wait to see Peaky Blinders make its transition to the big screen, fans of Murphy will be able to see the actor star in Christopher Nolan's upcoming film Oppenheimer. Murphy, a long-time collaborator of Nolan, will appear in the movie as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who helmed the Manhattan Project during the development of the atomic bomb. He will be joined by an all-star cast including Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, and many others.
Oppenheimer is set to be released on July 21.