Peaky Blinders movie: Steven Knight confirms whether Cillian Murphy will return as Tommy Shelby for film

Steven Knight has confirmed that filming for the new Peaky Blinders movie will begin at his Digbeth Loc Studios in September 2024 - but will Cillian Murphy return for the blockbuster?

Knight spoke to BirminghamWorld at the premiere for his new BBC show This Town. He'd previously revealed that he was putting the finishing touches to the script for the movie, but it hadn't been confirmed whether Cillian Murphy would reprise his role as Birmingham gang leader Tommy Shelby.

Knight revealed to us on the red carpet last night (March 19), that the Oscar-winner will "definitely" be in the new film. He said: "He definitely is returning for it. We're shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth."

Fans of the wildly popular BBC show will be delighted to hear that Murphy will feature in the film. The Irish actor had expressed enthusiasm for featuring in the film when asked in recent interviews, but had held back from confirming that he would definitely be in it.

Knight also went on to praise Murphy following his Academy Award for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer in Christopher Nolan's 2023 film. He said: "It was so deserved. I mean he's brilliant, and he's such a great human being and he leads the line when we're shooting and he's so level headed and straight forward. He deserves everything he gets."

During the red carpet event at Birmingham Town Hall on Tuesday, we also asked Knight about what audiences can expect when the six-part series This Town hits television screens on Sunday, March 31. He said: "I wanted to do a story set in Birmingham and Coventry. There's plenty of stories to choose from over the past 200 or so years, but this thing I remember myself from the early 80s is something I think is very relevant to today, where we're living in a time where people are deciding to be separate a lot and deciding to find differences.

"This is about a group of people in estates in Birmingham and Coventry, when these records were arriving from Jamaica and people in Coventry and Birmingham liked them and were dancing to them, and they happened to be black and white. The idea is if you take away the external pressures, people will be alright and get on."

What will the Peaky Blinders film be about and who else will be in it?

Previously, Knight touched on the plot for the movie, revealing plans for the film to be set during the second World War. He said: “Peaky – in this incarnation – comes to an end,” Knight said about series six. “But we’re doing a film which will also carry on the family and the stories into the Second World War.”

In a recent interview with Esquire, he added: “The film, I know exactly what it’s about. And I know what two stories it’s going to tell. How the story will unfold, I don’t know. What will happen after that, I want that to depend on the film. For all we know somebody is going to pop out – I think I know who it’s going to be.”

During the interview, Knight also hinted at who will be in the movie, saying: “In series six we’re bringing in the new generation, and they are going to be part of what happens in the film. I think it’s finding those actors that you just watch and you think, there you go. There’s the future.”

Liverpudlian actor Stephen Graham has made his Peaky Blinders debut in series 6, as has Amber Anderson who plays Lady Diana Mitford, and James Frecheville who stars as Jack Nelson - meaning all three could feature in the film based on Knight’s comments.