Peaky Blinders film starring Cillian Murphy confirmed

A Peaky Blinders film is coming to Netflix, with Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy set to reprise his role as gangster Tommy Shelby.

The streaming giant confirmed the news in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday night alongside a photograph of the script.

"This is one for the fans," said Irish actor Murphy, who will also co-produce the film.

The hit BBC drama, which ran for six series from 2013 to 2022, followed the lives of Birmingham gangsters in the early 20th Century.

Murphy played the lead role for the whole run of the TV show.

"It seems like Tommy Shelby wasn't finished with me," he commented.

"It is very gratifying to be re-collaborating with Steven Knight and Tom Harper on the film version of Peaky Blinders."

Fans have reacted with excitement to the news.

"Tommy Shelby always [has] a way of making us glued to our screen," wrote one X user. "I'm so in for it."

"Can't wait for more Tommy Shelby action! Peaky Blinders on Netflix - it just doesn't get any better than that," wrote another.

But one user joked: "I guess I've got to binge Peaky Blinders before this film comes out, because I haven’t seen one episode yet."

The series first aired on BBC Two in September 2013. It made the transition to BBC One for the fifth series in 2019, achieving audiences of over five million.

Throughout its run, a host of awards have followed, including National Television Awards, which are voted for by the public, and a Bafta for best drama series in 2018.

Writer and creator Knight promised the film would leave "no holds barred".

"It will be an explosive chapter in the Peaky Blinders story," he said, according to the PA news agency. "Full-on Peaky Blinders at war."

He added that he was "genuinely thrilled" that the movie, which will go into production later this year, is happening.

Director Harper said: "When I first directed Peaky Blinders over 10 years ago we didn't know what the series would become, but we did know that there was something in the alchemy of the cast and the writing that felt explosive."

In comments quoted by PA, he said the show had always been "a story about family", and so it was "incredibly exciting" to be reuniting with cast and crew to bring the movie to audiences.

Murphy came to fame battling zombies in 28 Days Later and as gang leader Shelby in Peaky Blinders.

Last year, he starred as the father of the atomic bomb in Oppenheimer, a role which won him an Academy Award in March.

The win made him the first Irish-born star to win best actor at the Oscars, and cemented his status as a Hollywood heavyweight.