Peaky Blinders movie sets filming timeline (Here's everything we know)

The popular British crime drama Peaky Blinders wrapped its sixth series in 2022, but fans are eager to know what the future holds for the series and Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy). Even though the sixth series has been confirmed to be the last, creator Steven Knight has already promised fans that more is coming in the Peaky Blinders universe, this time in the form of a Peaky Blinders movie.

Depending on how well the movie performs and the story that unfolds, it’s also possible that the film could lead to additional television shows in the future. Perhaps we’ll see some spinoff series or something come from it down the line. For now, we have a movie to look forward to, and Knight has just confirmed a filming timeline. Here's everything we've heard so far!

Why we're getting a movie instead of another season

The show's creator confirmed that they initially wanted Peaky Blinders to go on for seven total seasons, but they ran into issues making that happen. But it's not all doom and gloom! Instead of doing a seventh and final season, Knight decided they'd make a movie instead. The main reason for the change in medium is due to COVID-19.

Knight told Variety that when the pandemic happened, they lost a year of production, “So we put our heads together and thought that it would be a good idea to do a movie instead of doing series seven.” While speaking to RadioTimes, Knight also referenced actress Helen McCrory's untimely death as a reason for wanting to do the movie. McCrory memorably played Polly Gray, Tommy's aunt who served as the matriarch of the Shelby family.

McCrory sadly passed away in April 2021 after a battle with cancer.

"We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I'm calling ‘the end of the beginning Let’s end the beginning, then let's do the film. And then let's see where we go in terms of spin-offs."

- Steven Knight

Filming is set to begin this September

The movie is finally almost ready to get into production, as we just learned this week. According to Variety, Knight spoke to Birmingham World at the premiere of his new BBC show The Town, where he confirmed the timeline of a September start. They're set to film in Digbeth, which is located in Birmingham, England. While the show takes place in Birmingham, they actually shot the seasons around Northern England, with TUDUM confirming they filmed in locations like Dudley, Liverpool, Haworth, Wirral, Bradford, Leeds, and Arley.

At the time of this writing, we don't know how long filming is set to run for. The sixth season of Peaky Blinders was filmed from Jan. 2021 to May 2021, though that was six episodes worth of television, which equaled a little over six hours total. Depending on the scope of the movie, we do not expect filming to take as long as seasons of the show.

In 2022, Knight told The Daily Star (via Radio X) that the movie would hit theaters in 2024, though we do not see that happening anymore. Because filming isn't even starting until September, we'd expect the movie to premiere sometime in 2025 at the earliest. We'll be sure to update you once we get a confirmed date for release!

Cillian Murphy will return for the Peaky Blinders movie

Thank goodness! Though there have been discussions about a Peaky Blinders movie for years now, star Cillian Murphy remained a bit tight-lipped on his involvement. But, according to Knight, Murphy is set to reprise his role as Tommy Shelby. A Peaky Blinders movie without him would feel so wrong. “[Murphy is] definitely is returning for it. We’re shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth,” Knight confirmed to Birmingham World this week.

Knight previously said Tommy Shelby would have a role to play in the film, and Murphy has also said that he would come back if there was more story to be told. During Variety's Actors on Actors video series in 2023, Murphy sat down with Margot Robbie to talk all things "Barbenheimer" and ask each other questions about their careers. Robbie, very clearly a huge Peaky Blinders fan, asked Murphy if he would return for a movie. He did not confirm he would, but he teased: "I mean, I’m open to the idea. I’ve always thought that if there’s more story to tell."

While we don't have an official synopsis for the movie yet, Knight has revealed that it will be a story set during World War II. He previously dished:

"I know what the story is and I’m writing at the moment. It’s a very specific story, that’s based on a true story from the Second World War and will be told in the 'Peaky' way."

- Steven Knight

Knight also confirmed that he envisions the Peaky Blinders story continuing past World War II, explaining:

"Because I just think the energy that is out there in the world for this, I want to keep it going, and I want to see how this can progress beyond that... I think of this sixth series as the end of the beginning."

- Steven Knight

The Peaky Blinders season 6 finale is a fantastic episode of television, but it leaves us with so many questions as to where Tommy goes next! Fortunately, fans can rest assured that his story will continue.

I would be surprised if a deal wasn’t negotiated to stream the movie on Netflix, but it’s possible the film won’t arrive on the service since it’s not part of the original series. Either way, if it does come to Netflix, it likely won’t be until some point after its theatrical run.

In the meantime, you can revisit all six seasons of Peaky Blinders on Netflix right now.