Spoiler alert: This piece discusses major plot points from Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.

What the movie is and where it starts

Steven Knight wrote the movie and Tom Harper directed it. The story jumps to 1940, about six years after the TV series ends. Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy, has withdrawn to a rundown country house. He is writing his memoir and trying to live with a heavy guilt that keeps him isolated. Meanwhile his estranged son Duke, played by Barry Keoghan, runs the Peaky Blinders with reckless energy.

The Nazi plot and real history

In the film Duke is recruited by Nazi agents to flood Britain with forged banknotes in order to collapse the economy. Knight uses a real World War II operation as the basis for this plot. Operation Bernhard was an actual Nazi counterfeiting plan that aimed to destabilize the British economy, and it inspired the movie’s central crisis. Tommy returns to action to stop that scheme, and the climax involves him destroying the forged currency.

Tommy’s fate and the theatrical choice

Knight and Murphy planned this movie as the final chapter for Tommy Shelby. The filmmaker wanted the farewell to be felt together by fans, which is why the film had a short theatrical run before streaming. Knight has said that in screenings audiences reacted very emotionally to the ending, which was part of the goal.

The Alfie Solomons idea Tom Hardy pushed — and Knight scrapped

Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomons became one of the show’s most talked-about characters. Alfie’s scenes were mainly intimate exchanges between him and Tommy, and Hardy famously persuaded Knight to bring Alfie back after a scripted death. For the movie, Knight admitted he briefly considered a bold twist: reveal that Alfie had actually been dead for a long time and was appearing only to Tommy. He ultimately decided not to use that idea.

Why that would have worked on paper

  • Alfie’s past interactions with Tommy were often isolated to the two of them on screen.
  • Tommy already experiences visions and hallucinations of people from his past in the series.
  • That pattern made the ghost idea tempting, but Knight chose a different route for the movie.

Who is and is not in the film

Not every familiar face from the series returns. Paul Anderson’s Arthur Shelby is not part of the movie’s present-day cast. Knight explains that the story required focus, so Arthur’s involvement is shown only through short flashbacks. Those flashbacks deliberately keep Arthur’s face obscured, and they serve to underline the guilt that explains Tommy’s exile.

Other characters have small or no roles because a feature film has limited runtime. Knight said he wanted the movie to be tightly focused on Tommy and Duke as the two main engines of the story.

Barry Keoghan and the on-screen chemistry

Barry Keoghan plays Duke Shelby, and Knight says there was no other actor who could have filled that role. He notes the chemistry between Keoghan and Murphy and that both actors brought a particular intensity to the father and son dynamic.

Plans for a sequel series set in the 1950s

Knight is already working on a follow-up series set in 1953. He confirms that some characters from The Immortal Man will appear in that project, and that Duke is expected to be a part of it. Knight would not say whether Keoghan will return to play an older Duke. For now he is under strict instructions to keep details quiet.

Other notes Knight shared

  • Cillian Murphy’s recent awards and profile helped keep momentum for the project. Murphy sent Knight a message after his Oscar win saying he was ready to return.
  • Knight is involved in other varied projects, including work related to a major spy franchise and some new television work. He describes choosing projects that push him into different areas.
  • Finn Shelby, the youngest brother, is alive in the film’s timeline and is mentioned as living in Liverpool.

Why the Bank of England detail mattered

Knight wanted a plot rooted in hard historical detail, which is why Operation Bernhard appealed to him. The Bank of England reacted to the threat by withdrawing certain notes and redesigning currency after the war. That history gave the fake money plot credibility and a clear motive for Tommy to act.

Final thoughts from Knight

Knight says the first day on set for season one still stands out as a key memory. He remembers the commitment from the cast and crew early on, and how that effort grew into a worldwide fan community. That fan energy helped push the creators to give Tommy a conclusive screen ending and to present it in a way that lets audiences say goodbye together.

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is now streaming on Netflix.