When you take a scan over the big "Original" projects that Netflix has coming out in the next few weeks and months, there are some big names that stand out – but thanks to his Oscar win for Oppenheimer, few are bigger than Cillian Murphy. When you add his newfound star power into the pre-existing success of his biggest show, Peaky Blinders, you have quite a cocktail.
We've known for ages that the series (which is now finished) would get a final twist in the form of a big-budget movie (Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man) to round things off, and now there's a trailer to enjoy at last. It showcases some of what we'll get to see, and starts by showing us Murphy's Tommy Shelby living in self-imposed exile.
Tommy's holed himself away in a country estate, living a bleak life of solitude and perhaps repentance, but in his absence his son has grown into a real menace. That's right, Barry Keoghan is here as Erasmus 'Duke' Shelby, Tommy's son now leading the Peaky Blinders in his own violent way.
It looks like a new character, the inimitable Rebecca Ferguson as Kaulo, will approach Tommy desperately beseeching him to return himself to the fold and take his son in hand. Meanwhile, Duke seems to be making overtures to the far-right in Birmingham, led by a menacingly well-spoken Tim Roth, who's hoping to sabotage on behalf of the Nazis.
It's all very textbook Peaky, and there are some other returning faces to keep the continuity going from the show, including Sophie Rundle as the iconic Ava Shelby. That said, people have noticed one conspicuous absence – there's no mention of Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson).
It'll be interesting to see how his absence is handled, but from the looks of this big-budget trailer, there'll be as much action as anyone could want, along with a whole heap of classic Tommy Shelby confrontations and dominations. It should be a real treat when it hits Netflix on 20 March, in around a month.
