The first trailer for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is here, and it sees the return of Cillian Murphy’s Tommy Shelby – watch below.
After the climax of the sixth season of the Netflix show, creator Steven Knight decided to finish up the story of Tommy Shelby with a spinoff feature film, which is set to be released in select cinemas on March 6, before it lands on the streaming service on March 20.
At the end of the final season, Murphy’s character rides off into the sunset after finding out that his terminal brain tumour was actually the result of a malicious false diagnosis orchestrated by one of his enemies, and the film will now explore the next chapter in Tommy’s life.
In the trailer, released today (December 24), Tommy returns, while a voice asks: “Whatever happened to Tommy Shelby, the famous gypsy gangster?” Murphy later declares, “I’m not that man anymore”.
We also get a glimpse of cast newcomer Barry Keoghan, alongside ominous explosions and gatherings of Nazi groups. Watch here:
The film was greenlit last year and features a script written by Knight, with Tom Harper, who helmed several episodes in season one, returning as director.
Speaking about returning to the role, Murphy has said: “It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me. It is very gratifying to be collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders. This is one for the fans.”
In a recent interview with The Observer, Murphy explained why he decided to return to Peaky Blinders. “Because we got a really good script, and I have a sense of duty to the fans because, in many ways, they made the show the success that it is,” he sais. “It’s a proper bookend to the whole 36 hours of television.”
He went on to say he’d been listening to a lot of Fontaines D.C.‘s latest album ‘Romance‘ to get him back into the mindset of Tommy Shelby. “I did work out that I’ve been playing the character for a quarter of my life, which is kind of mad,” he added.
Stephen Graham is also returning as union leader Hayden Stagg, as is Sophie Rundle as Tommy’s sister Ada. As well as Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson and Tim Roth are also joining the cast.
The official description of The Immortal Man reads: “Birmingham, 1940. Amidst the chaos of WWII, Tommy Shelby is driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet. With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground. By order of the Peaky Blinders…”
“I think the film is gonna be a step up again, and it’s gonna be great that Peaky fans can meet in one place and watch it,” he told NME earlier this year. “The budget will be bigger, but also because we know we’re ending this chapter, we’re all going to try to do our best.”