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First Look: Three New Images Rekindle the Peaky Fire
Empire magazine’s latest issue has reignited excitement around Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man with three new images that promise a darker, more cinematic chapter for the Shelby clan. The photos offer a striking close-up of Cillian Murphy back as Tommy Shelby, a glimpse of Barry Keoghan apparently leading a new generation of Peaky-style figures, and the first look at Rebecca Ferguson playing a mysterious new character called Kaolo.
Tom Harper directs the Netflix-backed feature from a screenplay by series creator Steven Knight. The film returns Murphy to the role that defined his recent career arc — Tommy Shelby, now older, war-scarred and up against the existential stakes of wartime Britain. The official logline sets the scene: Birmingham, 1940. Amid the chaos of World War II, an exiled Tommy must return to face the most devastating challenge of his life — and decide whether to settle old scores or burn everything down.
Beyond the trio of images, the announced ensemble includes Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, Sophie Rundle, Barry Keoghan and Stephen Graham among others, reinforcing that this is less a standalone film and more a major extension of the Peaky universe.
How the Film Fits into the Peaky Blinders Legacy
Peaky Blinders began as a BBC drama in 2013 and became a global phenomenon once Netflix picked it up. Its mix of period detail, contemporary soundtrack and morally ambiguous central figure won awards — including a BAFTA for Best Drama Series — and spawned a devoted international fanbase. The Immortal Man appears to lean into the series’ strengths: stylized violence, political danger and Tommy’s interior turmoil.
Compared to the TV show’s quieter, episodic build-ups, the film format allows for a more operatic, compressed narrative — closer in scale to cinematic gangster portraits like Boardwalk Empire’s big set pieces or Guy Ritchie’s period gangster turns, but with Steven Knight’s signature psychological focus.
What Fans and Industry Observers Are Watching For
Fans are already dissecting clothing, props and the wartime setting in the images. Industry insiders see the film as a bellwether for franchise cinema that migrates from streaming TV to feature films — an increasingly common trend as successful series expand into movies.
Trivia: Empire dedicated its cover to the project, and this marks one of Rebecca Ferguson’s most secretive character introductions in recent memory. Meanwhile, reports confirm the Peaky world won’t stop here: two six-episode series are planned to continue the story after the film, reportedly beginning in 1953, with Cillian Murphy and Steven Knight attached as executive producers.
Critically, the film will be judged on whether it preserves the TV show’s nuanced character work while delivering the cinematic scale audiences expect. For many viewers, Tommy Shelby’s return is as much about closure as it is about spectacle.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man looks set to honor the series’ roots while steering the franchise into new territory — and these first images are only the opening salvo.
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