Writer Steven Knight has given an update to The Radio Times about the upcoming Peaky Blinders movie and it sounds as though firm plans are in motion. “Nearly nearly nearly, it’s almost there,” he said when asked if the script had been finalised. “So, you know, we’ve got the shooting schedule, we’ve got the dates for when we start, so that’s all going to happen.”
The first season of Peaky Blinders (broadcast in 2013) depicted a Tommy Shelby (Cillian Murphy) who was still suffering from post-traumatic stress after recently returning from the First World War. The series then took place over the course of the 1920s and 30s, with the last two seasons showing the rise of fascism in Britain through the real-life character of Oswald Moseley (Sam Claflin). The sixth and final season was released earlier in 2022.
Knight confirmed that the film would be set during the Second World War, focusing on a number of previously untold real-life stories which will be folded into the Peakys’ world. “It’s the same rules [as writing the TV show] but I mean, always with Peaky I’ve tried to make it the same, but different.” he explained. “So every new series has a different sort of purpose.”
“I’ve had this in mind for quite a while now, a story with the Peakys during the Second World War, and I’ve picked up three true stories that I’m integrating into the film. True, sort of secret and unknown stories about the Second World War, and [I’ve] involved the Peakys in there.”