Cillian Murphy unveils hopes for Peaky Blinders film ahead of Oppenheimer release

Cillian Murphy has given fans hope he will be in the new Peaky Blinders movie - here’s what he’s said about the project in his latest interview
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Cillian Murphy has been discussing his role in the new Peaky Blinders movie.

The final series of the BBC gangster show aired in February 2022, and the show’s creator Steven Knight previously confirmed that the script for the Peaky Blinders film is now finished, with production expected to begin in early next year, and a potential release date in Spring 2024.

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The cast for the film hasn’t been confirmed yet, but Cillian Murphy, who, of course, plays leading man Thomas Shelby, has previously hinted he could be involved, and in a new interview he has now revealed that he ‘would love’ to be involved in the film.

In Murphy’s latest film, Oppenheimer, which will be released this summer, the Irish actor stars as physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, who works with a team of scientists during the Manhattan Project, leading to the development of the atomic bomb.

The film has been directed by his long-time collaborator Christopher Nolan and the Hollywood blockbuster is expected to be one of the year’s highest-grossing films.

As well as discussing the film in the interview with Rolling Stone UK, Murphy revealed his hope of being involved in the Peaky Blinders film.

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He said: “If there’s more story there, I’d love to do it, but it has to be right. Steve Knight wrote 36 hours of television, and we left on such a high. I’m really proud of that last series. So, it would have to feel legitimate and justified to do more.”

Murphy also revealed in the interview that people are often ‘underwhelmed’once they realise he is nothing like his Peaky Blinders character Shelby.

“I think it’s the Tommy Shelby thing,” he said. “People expect this mysterious, swaggering - it’s just a character. I do feel people are a little bit underwhelmed. That’s fine, it means I’m doing my job. Peaky fans are amazing. But sometimes I feel a little sad that I can’t provide — like — that charisma and swagger.”

Cillian Murphy Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy

What do we know about the film so far?

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.”

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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.

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