Cillian Murphy to star in Peaky Blinders movie following his Oscar win

Cillian Murphy will be reprising his role as Thomas Shelby from the British period crime drama, Peaky Blinders, for an upcoming movie, directed by Tom Harper.

In a tweet, uploaded to Netflix‘s X account, the streaming platform teased a photo of a script for the  long-rumored feature film. 

‘It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn’t finished with me… It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders,’ the Irish actor, 48, told Deadline. 

Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight said he was ‘genuinely thrilled that this movie is about to happen.’ 

‘No holds barred. Full on Peaky Blinders at war,’ Knight continued. 

Production is set to begin later this year. 

In March, Knight shared the exciting news that Murphy would begin shooting later this year with the rest of the cast while speaking to BirminghamWorld at the premiere of his new BBC show This Town. 

‘He is definitely returning for it. We’re shooting it in September just down the road in Digbeth,’ Knight said, at the time.

The movie is set to begin filming at Digbeth Loc Studios in Birmingham in September, and will be set during the Second World War. 

Cillian had previously said of the project earlier this year: ‘I have always said that if Knight delivers a script that I know he can deliver, because he is such a phenomenal writer, I’ll be there.

‘If we want to watch 50-year-old Tommy Shelby, I will be there. Let’s do it.’

Fans were thrilled with the news as they wrote in reaction: ‘We are back.. the goat is backkkkkkkk.’,

‘Glad to see him back in the role for the film. Should be good.’,

‘I AM SO EXCITEDDDDD. This news made my day.’,

‘Oh my It’s back.’,

‘This is a must tbh. Wouldn’t be the same without him.’,

‘this gonna be massive.’

After his historic Oscars win for Best Actor for Oppenheimer last month, Cillian said of his character Tommy: ‘I loved playing him. He was exhausting and so wildly different for me that each time going back was kind of a journey.

‘I’m really not sentimental about work. I feel like the next thing is the most exciting thing. And I mean, it was a ten-year period in my life, so it is significant, but I always feel, like, let’s keep moving.’

He previously said he would be happy to reprise his role.

Speaking on Desert Island Discs, he admitted he was ‘relieved’ when the BBC drama ended in 2022 – but is now ‘totally’ on board with a movie adaptation.

Murphy also hinted that Knight had more stories to tell about the Birmingham-based Shelby clan and their criminal activities between the 1880s and 1910s.

Peaky Blinders launched in 2013 and garnered huge audiences both in Britain and overseas, attracting roles for silver-screen stars such as Tom Hardy and Anya Taylor-Joy.

Cillian was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer at the 96th Academy Awards in March.

In his speech Cillian told the star-studded room that he was ‘a very proud Irishman standing here tonight’ before dedicating his win to ‘peacemakers everywhere’.  

Fans watching hailed him a ‘true gentleman’ for his ‘heartfelt’ words as he signed off with a nod to his Irish heritage. 

‘Go raibh míle maith agaibh,’ he added, which translates to ‘a thousand thank yous’.

Speaking in the press room after picking up his statuette, Murphy told journalists: ‘I’m in a little bit of a daze, I’m very overwhelmed. I’m very humbled. I’m very grateful and you know, very proud to be Irish standing here today.

‘It’s really really meaningful to me. I don’t know if I said this in my speech, because I can’t remember what I said.’

‘I did want to say that I think in Ireland we are really great at supporting artists and I think we need to continue to support artists and the next generation of actors and directors. I think that’s vitally important. That’s all I have to say.’ 

When asked if he is ‘content’ about being remembered for his role as atomic bomb scientist J Robert Oppenheimer in the movie, the actor replied: ‘Very content. I mean, you got to move forward, but this has been a huge, huge moment for me.

‘The movie is so special to me, and myself and [director] Chris [Nolan] have such a special relationship.’

‘And I just feel very privileged to be able to continue to work with him and I’m very proud that this is a film that is provocative, and that asks questions, and is challenging, but yet so many people went to see it, so I’m really really proud of it.’

Cillian added of his relationship with director Christopher Nolan: ‘It’s very very special. We have been working together for 20 years. I think he’s the perfect director, he’s an extraordinary writer, he’s an extraordinary director of actors.

‘He presents this film like no one else does in the world, and I just can’t believe my luck. I did a screentest for him when I was a kid, and I thought that would be it and it would just be enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours, and here we are. So, I’m just so humble and thankful.’

When asked if he is ‘content’ about being remembered for his role as atomic bomb scientist J Robert Oppenheimer in the movie, the actor replied: ‘Very content. I mean, you got to move forward, but this has been a huge, huge moment for me.

‘The movie is so special to me, and myself and [director] Chris [Nolan] have such a special relationship.’

‘And I just feel very privileged to be able to continue to work with him and I’m very proud that this is a film that is provocative, and that asks questions, and is challenging, but yet so many people went to see it, so I’m really really proud of it.’

Cillian added of his relationship with director Christopher Nolan: ‘It’s very very special. We have been working together for 20 years. I think he’s the perfect director, he’s an extraordinary writer, he’s an extraordinary director of actors.

‘He presents this film like no one else does in the world, and I just can’t believe my luck. I did a screentest for him when I was a kid, and I thought that would be it and it would just be enough to be in a room with Chris for a couple of hours, and here we are. So, I’m just so humble and thankful.’