Amidst The Birmingham Blitz in November 1940, Nazi Germany initiates a plot to economically subdue the United Kingdom by introducing copious amounts of counterfeit British currency – manufactured by the inmates of the regime's concentration camps — into the British economy with the assistance of pro-Nazi agents, with the goal of triggering hyperinflation. Concurrently, a Luftwaffe night raid in Birmingham destroys a BSA munitions factory, killing the factory's female workforce.
Elsewhere, Tommy Shelby lives in isolation, having retreated from public life after the death of his elder brother Arthur, who supposedly died by suicide in December 1938. His only company is his loyal assistant Johnny Dogs. Tommy is working on his autobiography but is haunted by visions of his deceased daughter, Ruby. Ada Shelby, who has succeeded Tommy as the MP for Birmingham South, visits him to inform him of the acts committed by the Peaky Blinders, now led by his son Duke Shelby. Concurrently, the gang raids the destroyed factory and steals its munitions. In private, Duke has joined forces with Nazi agent John Beckett, who intends to have the Peaky Blinders distribute £70 million of counterfeit currency inside Britain through the gang's networks.
Meanwhile, Tommy is approached by Kaulo Chiriklo, the twin sister of Zelda Chiriklo – with whom Tommy had conceived Duke in 1914. Calling Tommy the Rom Baro, or the Gypsy King, Kaulo claims to have spoken to Arthur from beyond the grave, and goads Tommy into divulging that he had accidentally killed Arthur, who had acted erratically under the influence of opium. She nevertheless interprets Tommy's act as a kindness, and convinces him to return to Birmingham to save Duke, whom she deduces is in trouble. Elsewhere, Beckett discovers that Ada had collected testimony of Duke's raid at the factory and that she intends to submit it to the military police, which could derail the plot. He orders Duke to kill Ada, but Duke emotionally fumbles at the last minute; Beckett, who had anticipated this, kills Ada himself.
Tommy learns of Ada's death and confronts Duke, admonishing him for his ill-disciplined ways. He learns of the plot, and plans to kill Beckett at the mortuary where Ada's body is, deducing that Beckett would be there to kill him as well. At the mortuary, Tommy confesses to his deceased sister the true nature of Arthur's death: he had killed Arthur after becoming exasperated by his volatility. Beckett appears and tries to kill Tommy, but escapes after an exchange of gunfire. Meanwhile, Kaulo privately visits Duke and instructs him to ally with his father, but hands him a bullet inscribed with Tommy's name, ordering him to kill him after achieving their common goal.
Tommy, who has now reassumed his leadership of the Peaky Blinders, plans to use the arrival of the counterfeit money to defeat Beckett, with the assistance of his old allies Charlie Strong, Curly and dockyard boss Hayden Stagg – who has traced Beckett's car to a warehouse at the Liverpool docks. However, Duke reconnects with Beckett and promises to ensure the safe passage of the counterfeit money, as was previously agreed. Tommy plans to have the Blinders travel by narrowboat to Liverpool to confront Beckett's Nazi mercenaries, while he travels through a disused tunnel to surprise Beckett personally; both teams are to strike simultaneously at midnight.
Before leaving, Tommy has a private audience with Kaulo and reveals he is aware of her intentions, but does not explicitly oppose them. Beckett, who has been personally warned by Duke of the plan, has his forces intercept the narrowboats, not knowing that they are rigged with explosives. The resulting detonation kills the mercenaries; Duke reveals to a surprised Beckett that he had chosen to support his father all along, before escaping. The Blinders arrive and kill Beckett's remaining mercenaries. Tommy, who has arrived as well, uses a landmine to successfully incinerate the counterfeit money, thus suppressing the plot. Beckett tries to escape in his car, and exchanges gunfire with Tommy. Tommy is injured but kills Beckett, and attempts to die by standing in front of Beckett's speeding car, but Duke saves him.
Mortally wounded, Tommy encourages Duke to kill him with the bullet Kaulo gave him. Duke resists, but eventually obeys, and Tommy dies reciting the first line of the poem "In the Bleak Midwinter", having finally attained peace. Duke, now the new Rom Baro, leads the Peaky Blinders in conducting a Gypsy funeral for their fallen leader. Kaulo recovers Tommy's manuscript, The Immortal Man, in which Tommy reminisces that despite his wealth and power, he had his family by his side, and now in death is now reunited with them, wherever they may be.
The British television series Peaky Blinders ran for six series between 2013 and 2022.[2] Speaking in January 2021, show creator Steven Knight discussed the future of the Peaky Blinders storytelling ahead of the conclusion of the sixth series and suggested a feature-length film could be produced as a continuation of the story.[3]
Speaking to Rolling Stone magazine in May 2023, actor Cillian Murphy, who played lead character Tommy Shelby in all six series, indicated a willingness to return to the character, saying "If there's more story there, I'd love to do it. But it has to be right. 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".[4] In December 2023, Knight confirmed that he was finalising the script for the film.[5]
In March 2024, Knight confirmed that Murphy would be returning for the film to reprise his role as Shelby. Principal photography was expected to commence in September 2024, in Digbeth at Knight's Digbeth Loc Studios.[6][7] Producers on the film are Knight, Caryn Mandabach, Murphy, and Guy Heeley.[8] In July 2024, Rebecca Ferguson joined the cast.[9] In August, Barry Keoghan joined the cast, with Netflix handling the distribution.[10] Murphy, who has previously worked with Keoghan on Dunkirk, was instrumental in casting Keoghan - ultimately text messaging him an offer to play a part.[11] In September, Tim Roth and Jay Lycurgo joined the cast.[12][13] By October, Stephen Graham, Sophie Rundle, Ned Dennehy, Packy Lee, and Ian Peck were reported to be reprising their roles from the series.[14][15]
Reports in September 2024 suggested that filming would take place in October 2024 in St Helens, Merseyside with the title set to be The Immortal Man.[16]
Principal photography began on 30 September 2024 at Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham, and in the West Midlands.[17] The filming in St Helens took place at the former Pilkington Watson Street works.[18] Filming wrapped on 13 December.[19] A climatic fight scene between Murphy and Keoghan was shot on location in mud contaminated with pig feces; it was shot with Keoghan holding his own more in the fight and gaining the upper-hand at one moment but that was removed in the edit.[20]
Release
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man premiered at Symphony Hall, Birmingham on 2 March 2026 and released in select cinemas on 6 March 2026, and released globally on Netflix on 20 March 2026.[21][22][23] The film became the most-watched title on the streamer during the week of March 16-22, reaching 25.3 million views in its first 3 days of release on Netflix.
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 98 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Capping off Tommy Shelby's story with grit and swagger, The Immortal Man is a satisfying conclusion to Peaky Blinders that also stands tall on its own self-contained terms."[24]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 59 out of 100, based on 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[25]
Writing for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as a muscular feature adaptation marked by mud, violence, and wartime tension. He praised Cillian Murphy’s return as Tommy Shelby and the film’s dramatic style, while noting that its sentimental treatment of the character may appeal more strongly to viewers already familiar with the television series Peaky Blinders.[26] In a review for Empire, Dan Jolin also awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as a continuation of the television series that retains its established visual style and familiar setting. He praised Murphy’s screen presence as Tommy Shelby, while noting that the film functions more as an extended episode of Peaky Blinders than as a fully distinct cinematic work.[27] Reviewing for The Hollywood Reporter, Robyn Bahr described the film as a visually polished but unambitious continuation of the series, praising the performances of Murphy and Barry Keoghan while noting that the film moves quickly through familiar material toward a predictable conclusion.[28] James Mottram in NME also gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as an action-focused and cinematic sequel that benefits from strong performances, while noting that it carries the tone of a final television episode more than a fully emotional conclusion.[29] For The Independent, Clarisse Loughrey gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, describing it as a stylish but formulaic continuation, praising the performances of Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan while noting that the film adds little narrative development beyond the television series.[30]
In Deadline Hollywood, Damon Wise described the film as an entertaining and visually assured continuation that works on its own terms, praising Cillian Murphy's emotionally nuanced performance as Tommy Shelby.[31] In a review for The New York Times, Jeannette Catsoulis described the film as an atmospheric but uneven continuation, praising its visual design while noting that its familiar narrative and character treatment reduce its emotional weight.[32]
.jpg)