Spoilers for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man follow.
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man takes fans back into Tommy Shelby’s world for the first time since the TV series ended four years ago. But the world in which we now find Tommy (Cillian Murphy) is very different from where we left him at the end of season six.
It’s now 1940 and Britain is in the middle of World War II. Tommy’s son Charles is fighting on the front lines, and his brother Arthur has died in the years between season six ending and the film’s beginning.
BBC
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Paul Anderson, who plays Arthur, had revealed before The Immortal Man’s release that he did not reprise his role for the big screen but fans weren’t prepared for the shock of finding out Arthur’s true fate.
In the film, it is revealed that Tommy killed his own brother in a drunken rage after he stole his car. The reveal didn’t go down too well with fans of the show, who couldn’t believe Tommy would end his brother’s life.
But speaking on the Immortal Man podcast (via Tudum), Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has defended the decision, explaining that the guilt Tommy was left with was crucial for why the movie finds him in such a dark place.
Admitting that it wasn’t always the plan for Tommy to have killed Arthur, Knight said: “Sometimes something occurs to you that explains what you’ve been writing.
“I was writing this intense guilt. And then you think, ‘Well, that’s why he’s so guilty. Because it was him.'”
Netflix
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Knight went on to explain how Tommy’s murder of his brother marks the end of the character’s journey, as “everything that Tommy has ever stood for is family”.
Knight added: “And here he is, he shot his own brother. Everything falls apart after that.
“There is nothing left because everything you’ve ever stood for, everything you’ve represented, has gone. Tommy Shelby killed his everything all at once.”
Speaking about his character’s offscreen fate Anderson, who was informed of it by Knight ahead of the film’s release, told LadBible: “I think it’s great.
“I mean, it’s such a powerful thing to do. It’s something you don’t see on TV.”
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is now available to watch on Netflix.
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Stephanie is a writer who specialises in pro wrestling, covering everything from AEW and WWE to NJPW.Â
After graduating with a degree in history from Queen Mary University, London, she went on to study journalism at Birbeck University.Â
Outside of her journalism work Stephanie is also a YouTube content creator focusing on AEW and interviewing talent from AEW, WWE, and across the indie wrestling scene. She has also worked for Revolution Pro Wrestling as a backstage interviewer and commentator.