Peaky Blinders Star Cillian Murphy to Lead and Produce Netflix Film
Recent Oscar winner Cillian Murphy is set to headline and produce the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie for Netflix, as reported by Deadline. The film will be directed by Tom Harper, the filmmaker behind the series’ initial episodes that first premiered in 2013, following a gang of street gangsters in post-war UK. “It seems Tommy Shelby (his character in the show) wasn’t done with me… It’s very rewarding to collaborate again with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the big-screen version of Peaky Blinders. This is for the fans,” Murphy stated in a press release addressed to Deadline.
The script is penned by Steven Knight, the creator of the British series, and the film’s production, with plot details and the rest of the cast remaining under wraps, is slated for later this year. “When I directed Peaky Blinders for the first time over a decade ago, we didn’t know what the series would become, but we knew there was something explosive in the chemistry of the cast and the writing,” Harper shared in the same statement. Peaky Blinders debuted its first season in 2013 and after five more seasons, concluded in 2022. The series garnered multiple BAFTA awards over the years and despite its popularity with American audiences, never received an Emmy nomination.
The role of Thomas Shelby gave Murphy an international platform he had not previously reached despite his notable work in films like Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, both by Christopher Nolan. This year, the actor was a standout in the awards season for his portrayal of physicist Robert Oppenheimer in the film Oppenheimer, also directed by Nolan. His performance earned him his first Oscar for Best Actor, as well as other accolades including the Golden Globe, BAFTA, and SAG awards.