Peaky Blinders creator talks contemporary importance of Tommy Shelby fighting fascism: "Look what happened last time"
Steven Knight on his Peaky spin-off – and prophetic powers.
This article appears in Radio Times magazine.
As Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man arrives on Netflix on Friday 20 March 2026, Michael Hodges speaks with the franchise's creator, Steven Knight, about this explosive outing for Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy)...
The film dwells on Tommy’s existential crisis before the big things happen — are you teasing us?
It’s Cillian Murphy having an existential crisis, so there’s plenty to look at. Though you can feel it, that voice saying, “Come on, get out there, put the guns back on!”
However, he does something good, and I wanted it to be a big something good.
The film is based on the events of Operation Bernhard, when the Nazi government printed millions of pounds worth of fake currency. At the end of the Second World War, the Bank of England changed the design of the £5 note because they believed a lot of that fake currency had entered Britain.
Tommy’s decision to fight fascism has a contemporary resonance — did you intend that?
It’s deliberate. It’s always unfortunate when one’s work becomes topical because you don’t want it to be. A lot of stuff I’ve written about has then come along — that’s why I’m never going to write about the Third World War, because I think it will happen.
But yes, it’s 1939 again today and I think it’s quite a good idea to remind people that this isn’t the first time people have thought that a really simple solution will work, and say to them, “Look what happened last time.”
Many people might not be aware how badly Birmingham was blitzed until they see the film?
Absolutely, and the bombing at the film’s beginning of the BSA arms factory is real. The people who died working in the BSA on that night had been offered the chance to go to the shelters and they stayed because they thought the work they were doing was important. People are good.
The British seem bad at remembering just how good they can be?
I couldn’t agree more. That’s the sort of patriotism I think is really important, knowing what we did well, knowing where we stood, knowing where we still stand, maybe on our own, but we’ve got to be prepared for that. And wondering if we would we be as good as our parents and grandparents were.
Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan, as father and son Tommy and Duke, communicate much of their feelings without words…
A lot of this film is about how the men react with each other, and not suggesting that because these men don’t talk that they’re not emotional about something. They just don’t say it.
There’s a lot of fathers and sons in my work, there is something mythological about that, about the passing on of intergenerational trauma. The funny thing is how we all turn into our dad, bit by bit.
Does Barry’s performance as Duke demand another series or film?
Barry is phenomenal. I mean, that performance, Jesus! I can’t answer questions about that, but what I can say is that we will be shooting a series that is a continuation of the family story and I’ll keep doing it because people want it.
Read More:
- Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man review – Big screen spin-off keeps a firm red right hand on proceedings
- Peaky Blinders star breaks silence on major character absence from The Immortal Man film: "It’s something you don’t see on TV"
- Steven Knight explains how Peaky Blinders film ended up quite different from his initial plans
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Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is out now in UK cinemas and is released on Netflix on 20 March 2026.
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