10 Peaky Blinders questions we have after THAT ending to The Immortal Man
Where does the Peaky Blinders franchise go from here?
*Spoiler warning for the ending of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man*
We have a lot to dig into following the ending of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
We have off-screen deaths and some bloody on-screen deaths, but it's certainly the end of an era for the Shelby clan and their continued dominance of crime and politics in Birmingham.
While it may be a swan song for Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) and his siblings, this doesn't mean it's the end of the road for the clan - in fact, we know a sequel series is coming to the BBC and Netflix.
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Regardless of the fact that Cillian Murphy's Tommy won't feature, we know there are a lot of people who could, and this also impacts where it may go next.
So, without further ado, here are the biggest questions we have following the explosive Peaky Blinders movie.
10 Peaky Blinders questions we have after THAT ending to The Immortal Man
1. What's next for Erasmus “Duke” Shelby?
Well, it seems Duke Shelby is finally ready to truly succeed his father Tommy Shelby as the “Gypsy King” and a much more legitimate and honourable leader of the Peaky Blinders.
The old generation of Shelbys is gone, so Duke is now the oldest of the new generation and the true head of the family.
It seems Barry Keoghan is primed to be the lead of the new Peaky Blinders sequel series, but he will have big shoes to fill in the absence of Cillian Murphy.
We would also expect the return of Duke’s second-in-command, Elijah Hayes, played by Steve star Jay Lycurgo.
2. Will we continue to see Kaulo Chirklo?
Rebecca Ferguson’s Kaulo plays an influential role in The Immortal Man and is even name-checked as a spiritual successor to Polly Gray. As such, it would make sense to see this “Gypsy Queen” return for a larger role in the sequel series.
While Ferguson is a very in-demand Hollywood actress, she can be seen in the ongoing TV series Silo, which has now wrapped filming - meaning she will have a lot more time on her hands.
Something tells us that Duke Shelby will need some of her otherworldly guidance in the series to come.
However, Ferguson gave a mixed response to the prospect of a return when speaking to Radio Times magazine.
Ferguson told Michael Hodges, "I never say no."
However, she continued, "I think that Kaulo was so essential for this film, but I don’t always feel that a character needs to have a continuation; we can be satisfied with not being satisfied."
3. Will Hayden Stagg continue to play a role in the franchise?
Stephen Graham played a relatively small role in Peaky Blinders season 6 despite much fanfare, before returning as one of Tommy Shelby’s few allies in The Immortal Man.
Steven Knight previously indicated to Metro that he wanted Graham to remain in the franchise going ahead, so we very much expect Stagg to play an advisory role to Duke in the series to come.
In the absence of key Peaky icons, Graham can add an air of authority and prestige to proceedings.
4. Have we seen the last of Charlie Strong, Johnny Dogs, and Curly?
Three remaining stalwarts of the Peaky universe, Charlie, Johnny and Curly are very much old men by The Immortal Man and given their personal attachment to Tommy, perhaps it would make more sense to leave their stories with Tommy’s.
However, they have survived The Immortal Man, and Duke is starved of links to his father, so perhaps these men could prove a representation of Tommy’s legacy in the series to come.
5. Will Charles Shelby play a bigger part in the future?
Tommy commented in season 6 that Charles could be the light side of the coin to Duke’s dark when it comes to inheriting Tommy’s world.
Charles went into the army and a more legitimate world after the events of the series, having been raised by his stepmother, Lizzie Shelby.
We get told he is in Africa during World War II, and he is present at Tommy’s funeral pyre in a background and non-speaking role in the final scene of The Immortal Man.
Could Charles return to play a major role as the more legitimate face of the Shelby family in the sequel series?
Brotherly relationships have been so key to the world of Peaky Blinders, and the difference in upbringing between Duke and Charles seems ripe for drama…
6. Will Karl Thorne and his sister Elizabeth Younger return?
Karl Thorne, the son of Ada Shelby and Tommy’s old childhood friend Freddie Thorne, features in The Immortal Man as an assistant to his mother in her work as an MP.
It is Karl who is present when Ada is shot and killed by Beckett and is seen comforting his younger half-sister, Elizabeth Younger, Ada’s daughter with Colonel Ben Younger (Kingsley Ben-Adir), who was named after Aunt Polly, during their mother’s funeral.
Given that both Karl and Elizabeth are members of the new generation of Shelbys, can we expect them to return here?
And would Karl have a chip on his shoulder, given how Duke was indirectly involved in Ada’s bloody demise?
7. Will we see Lizzie Shelby again?
Natasha O’Keeffe’s Lizzie Shelby (née Stark), the estranged second wife of Tommy, is absent from The Immortal Man, having left him in the season 6 finale following the death of their daughter Ruby and his adultery with Lady Diana Mitford (Amber Anderson).
Tommy’s son by Grace, Charlie, was left to live with Lizzie after this, with Lizzie going unmentioned in the film.
Given her importance in Tommy’s life in the series and Charles’s thereafter, could we see Lizzie’s story revisited?
8. Will we ever see a comeuppance for Sir Oswald Mosley and Diana, Lady Mosley?
The chief antagonist of seasons 5 and 6, British fascist politician Sir Oswald Mosley, helped convince Tommy into thinking he was dying until the final episode saw Tommy realise the truth.
Oswald and his equally insidious wife, Diana, helped implode Tommy’s life in the final season and got away unscathed, marrying in Germany in the presence of Adolf Hitler.
The pair received a real-life comeuppance when they were imprisoned during World War II, but this is not depicted in the series and takes place before the events of The Immortal Man.
It feels a shame to deprive the audience of the characters’ downfalls, so could we see them again?
- Read More: Peaky Blinders star confirms key character won't be returning for upcoming film despite cliffhanger
9. Will we ever hear again from Gina Gray and her evil uncle Jack Nelson?
Speaking of antagonists, we don’t see the downfalls of. While we saw Tommy’s vengeful cousin Michael Gray (Finn Cole) executed in the finale, his scheming wife Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy) and her shady uncle Jack Nelson (James Frecheville) receive no comeuppance.
It is hinted that the Nelson clan’s hold on Boston is damaged by the events of the finale, but we do not see either of the nasty gangster Jack or Lady Macbeth figure, Gina, again.
Will they rear their heads in the sequel series?
8. What happened to Finn Shelby?
This feels like a key relationship fated to be tackled in the sequel series.
While in The Immortal Man, we see Tommy note to Ada’s corpse that he is the last of the Shelby siblings left, fans will no doubt wonder about the youngest sibling, Finn Shelby, last played by Harry Kirton.
The character was excommunicated from the family and the Peaky Blinders gang by Duke in the season 6 finale after his loose lips and insubordination threatened everyone’s survival. Finn swore revenge on his nephew, Duke, before departing.
With no update on Finn’s whereabouts in the film, could he stage a comeback to challenge Duke in the sequel series?
We would be very surprised if this didn’t happen…
9. What on earth is going on with Alfie Solomons?
Though it feels unlikely given his absence in The Immortal Man, we have to wonder whether we will see Tom Hardy’s Alfie Solomons again.
The colourful character was apparently killed off at the end of season 4 before returning ghoulishly ‘alive’ in season 5 and then much more normally in season 6. He only interacts with Tommy in these scenes, but he does talk about new real-world events, so his status remains ambiguous.
Was Tommy speaking with a ghost or imagining such interactions? It remains a possibility and one that Steven Knight, in interviews, has heavily implied.
Either way, an on-screen confirmation would be great!
10. When and where does the show go next?
Well, we somewhat have an answer to this already in the press release for the new seasons due to arrive from the BBC and Netflix.
It read: “Britain, 1953. After being heavily bombed in WWII, Birmingham is building a better future out of concrete and steel.
“In a new era of Steven Knight’s Peaky Blinders, the race to own Birmingham’s massive reconstruction project becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and danger: with the Shelby family right at its blood-soaked heart.”
Peaky Blinders creator and writer Steven Knight added: “I’m thrilled to be announcing this new chapter in the Peaky Blinders story.
“Once again it will be rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz.
“The new generation of Shelbys have taken the wheel and it will be a hell of a ride.”
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Authors
Lewis is the News and Trends Editor at Radio Times and leads our approach to news, reactive content, and serving audience demands and interests. An obsessive fan of television and film, Lewis is a Nicole Kidman fanatic with a side of passion for science-fiction, art-house cinema and the latest HBO drama. Lewis has a degree in Psychology and a Masters in Film Studies. After working in advertising, Lewis worked at The Mirror for three years in community management and SEO, showbiz, film and television reporting.
