Tommy Shelby will change direction of the war in Peaky Blinders film, says franchise creator Steven Knight

Over the course of six seasons on Peaky Blinders, Tommy Shelby came to represent not so much a man as a legend – with show boss Steven Knight and actor Cillian Murphy indulging in some major myth-making around the character.

And it looks like that isn't going to change when it comes to new big screen spin-off The Immortal Man, which arrives in UK cinemas this Friday (6 March) ahead of a Netflix release two weeks later.

Speaking at a recent Celebrating Peaky Blinders Q&A event hosted by Edith Bowman at the BFI, Knight revealed that Tommy will have his greatest impact yet in the new film, which takes place during the Second World War.

"To begin with, the war is happening without him," Knight told the audience, including Radio Times. "And then because he's Tommy Shelby. The war will change direction because of him."

Of course, the show has featured plenty of real historical events before, but changing the course of the war would quite handily eclipse all of Tommy's previous achievements. We can't wait to see how it all plays out.

Knight has previously revealed that the film would focus on a previously untold true story from the conflict, and he went into a little more detail about that during the Q&A – explaining how it would involve Operation Bernhard, a Nazi Germany scheme to flood the UK with counterfeit bank notes.

Meanwhile, Murphy explained at the event how the film would see him further embracing his roots – in particular the world of Aunt Polly, who was played by the late Helen McCrory.

"This is where we see him embracing the sort of gypsy magic more than we've ever seen in the past, which was very much the world of Aunt Polly," he explained.

"Whereas before he would've been brought up with that and understood it, as he's gotten older, that's what he really feels is actually... forget about progress and science and all that, this stuff is where the real source of life exists."

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is released in cinemas 6 March. The movie will stream on Netflix from 20 March – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Peaky Blinders series is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.

Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.