I literally just walked out of the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man movie in the theaters and I decided I wish I had remembered a few things of how the show, and specifically, season 6 went, so I could have been more clear on the movie as it started. So I decided I’d pull together a quick primer on the details that are most important going into the film… both to remind myself what the hell was going on with the film, but also to help a few of you that are heading into the watching the film. Save us all a lot of confusion and heart ache. Yes, I agree, I am a saint. Thank you. After all, 2022 was basically one forever ago, you can’t be blamed for forgetting.
WHERE THE SERIES LEFT OFF
The Big Lie of Season Six:
Okay, so this was one big key to season 6… Tommy wasn’t dying after all. The entire final season was built around Tommy believing he had a terminal brain condition called tuberculoma. So, as a result, he spent the season putting his affairs in order, fully convinced that he was about to slough off this mortal coil. But, as the season ends, and the finale drops, we learn that, in fact, this was all one big con. We learn that his doctor was secretly working for Oswald Mosley who was paid to manipulate Tommy into killing himself by convincing him death was imminent. But, Tommy discovers the deception through a clue connected to Mosley’s wedding. Tommy confronts the doctor but, in a symbolic gesture of choosing peace over vengeance, Tommy spares his life when the clock strikes eleven. “The eleventh hour. Armistice. Peace at last.” — a WWI reference. So as a result, he was never sick. And as a matter of fact, he is, in the most literal sense, the immortal man. There is your film title tie in.
The Family War: Michael Is Dead
Rewinding a smidge, the core conflict of Season 6 was Tommy vs. his cousin Michael Gray, who blamed Tommy for the death of his mother, Aunt Polly — killed by the IRA in the Season 6 opener as revenge for Tommy’s failed attempt to assassinate Oswald Mosley in Season 5. Polly had prophesied that a war between Tommy and Michael would end with one of them dead. It ends with Tommy shooting Michael in the head on Miquelon Island after Michael’s car bomb attempt on Tommy is foiled (by Johnny Dogs redirecting the bomb back to Michael’s own men).
The IRA: Arthur Gets His Revenge
Now, you will recall, that Arthur had been personally wrecked by Polly’s murder. In the finale, Tommy’s crew feeds false information to Billy Grade (a Shelby insider who’d been feeding intel to both Mosley and the IRA), luring IRA operative Captain Swing into a trap at the Garrison. Arthur, Jeremiah, and Charlie Strong use mustard gas and gunfire to wipe them out. Arthur kills Captain Swing himself. The IRA threat is finally closed.
The Next Generation: Duke and Finn
Tommy’s illegitimate eldest son, Erasmus “Duke” Shelby (Conrad Khan), proves himself as a true Shelby. He’s the one who executes the final play on Billy Grade — and when Tommy’s youngest brother Finn refuses to pull the trigger on Billy (because Billy is Finn’s friend), Duke empties the gun, survives Finn’s attempted shot (Uncle Charlie had pre-emptied the first two chambers), and kills Billy himself. Duke then banishes Finn from the Shelby family. Finn, furious, swears revenge on Duke. This unresolved tension is a thread carried directly into the film.
Gina Is Still Out There
Michael’s American wife Gina (Anya Taylor-Joy) — the scheming, dangerous connection to Boston mob boss Jack Nelson — is still alive at the end of the series. She had made explicit threats against all male Shelbys, including Tommy’s young son Charlie. She’s an open wound heading into the movie. She’s definitely someone you have to keep tabs on for the film.
Mosley Gets Away
Another important detail to keep in your mind is that Tommy never kills Oswald Mosley. Remember him? He’s the fascist political leader that ended up surviving the entire series. As the season ends, we find that Mosley is actually more powerful than ever, and he escaped the series without a single consequence. So yeah, Mosely is unfinished business.
The Shelby Empire, Dismantled
Tommy signs Camden Town over to Alfie Solomons (Tom Hardy) as a final arrangement. He demolishes Arrow House — his own mansion — to make way for affordable housing for Birmingham’s working class. His wife Lizzie leaves him (he’d had an affair), taking their son Charlie with her. Tommy says his goodbyes to the family, whispers something in Duke’s ear, tells his sister Ada to run for Parliament, and drives away.
The Final Image
Tommy’s caravan — the last vestige of his Romani heritage — is set on fire by one of Holford’s associates. Tommy watches it burn, then rides away on a white horse. Throughout the series, Tommy rode a black horse. The white horse is a deliberate symbol: a death and rebirth. A new chapter. He disappears.
Peaky Blinders Series to Film Gap: 1938 → 1940
The Peaky Blinders series ended in approximately 1938. And the movie jumps forward about two years, skipping over the opening of World War II and the evacuation of Dunkirk, landing us squarely in 1940 — the Birmingham Blitz. Over those two years, Tommy has been in self-imposed exile. He vanished on that white horse and apparently stayed gone — until he couldn’t anymore.
WHERE THE MOVIE BEGINS (The Immortal Man, 2026)
The Setup – Birmingham, 1940.
The German Luftwaffe is bombing the city. The BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) factory in Small Heath — the heart of the old Peaky Blinders territory — takes a direct hit. Nazi Germany is also running a secret operation using Jewish concentration camp labor to counterfeit British pound notes, intended to flood the UK economy and cause a financial collapse. Tommy has been in exile, absent from the life he dismantled. But something pulls him back.
The Hook: Duke Is In Trouble
Duke Shelby (Barry Keoghan) has taken over the Peaky Blinders crime syndicate in Tommy’s absence. And Duke — Tommy’s eldest son, the one he whispered something to at the end of the series — has become entangled with Nazi Germany. You won’t want to know the details walking in, but you can just know that the father-son conflict is the emotional engine of the film. The entire movie is all about Tommy returning, not to reclaim his empire, but to save his son from something far larger than either of them.
The New Characters
- Kaulo / Zelda (Rebecca Ferguson, playing twins) — an enigmatic new figure (or figures) in Tommy’s world
- John Beckett (Tim Roth) — a new antagonist or antagonist-adjacent character
- Barry Keoghan as Duke — now the face of the Peaky Blinders, and in over his head
The Returning Faces
- Sophie Rundle as Ada (who was pointed toward politics at the end of the series)
- Ned Dennehy as Uncle Charlie Strong
- Packy Lee as Johnny Dogs
- Stephen Graham in an unspecified role
The Tone and Stakes
Creator Steven Knight described the film as “full-on Peaky Blinders at war.” The official synopsis frames it as Tommy’s “most destructive reckoning yet” — a choice between confronting his legacy or burning it to the ground. The film is positioned as the true finale of Tommy Shelby’s story. It should be said that, Cillian Murphy himself, has indicated this is his final appearance in the role.
