Between writing for “Star Wars,” his new crime series show “A Thousand Blows” on Hulu, and a host of other gigs, writer/director/creator Steven Knight is keeping extremely busy. And one project near and dear to his heart he hasn’t abandoned is the Irish crime series, “Peaky Blinders,” starring Oscar-winner Cillian Murphy (“Oppenheimer“).
“Peaky Blinders” came to an end with season five, obviously, but the next move is a movie for Netflix that may arrive later this year. As part of “A Thousand Blows” conversation for our Bingeworthy TV podcast, Knight also gave us a status update on the upcoming “Peaky Blinders” movie which is shot and in editing currently.
READ MORE: Steven Knight Teases More ‘Peaky Blinders’ Beyond Netflix Movie: “The World Of ‘Peaky’ Will Continue”
In that chat with The Playlist, Knight revealed that his “Peaky Blinders” movie is getting a full theatrical release, despite Netflix usually being averse to such a thing (though let’s wait and see how big it will be) That highly-anticipated film will see Murphy return as Tommy Shelby with a supporting cast that features Barry Keoghan, Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Roth, and “A Thousand Blows” co-star Stephen Graham.
“We’ve got, I think, the best British acting talent all in one place,” Knight said of that lineup of actors for the “Peaky Blinders” film. The creator also added he’s been watching early editing assemblies of the movie which wrapped back in December and they’ve been impressing him, “It is mind-blowingly good.”
So why a movie?
“I just wanted to do it,” Knight said plainly. “I mean, part of it is, and this is not obviously the prime motivation, although I could pretend it is: I really want the ‘Peaky’ fans who have been a big part of this, the they way they found it.”
“It was never promoted massively, but people just found it and told each other about it,” he continued about the word-of-mouth nature of the show. “And the way that they’re so passionate about it, I really want them to be watching this all together in one building because the communication has all been virtual, which is fine. But I do want this to be in cinemas so that people can sit there together and watch this thing happen.”
So that means Netflix is giving it a theatrical run? Indeed. “Yes. Well, I’ve just made that announcement. So, yes,” he chuckled.
Knight had high praise for his star Cillian Murphy and described the movie as the ending of the first chapter of the continuing “Peaky Blinders” saga.
“Cillian is the most down to earth, straightforward person, never mind actor, just human being that you would ever meet,” he explained. “And when he was getting all his awards, he used to text me pretty much LA time next day, saying, ‘I can’t wait to be on the ‘Peaky’ set.”
“He leads the line in terms of actors,” Knight continued. “He sets the standards so people have to turn up knowing their lines. They have to turn up on time. And that is such a great thing to have. And I think this is a fitting end to the first chapter.”
So what’s next? More spin-offs, continuing the story?
Knight says simply, “It’s like, ‘Hey, we got plenty more [story] if we want to tell it. We can just keep going; just keep going through time.”
“As long as there’s an appetite for it and people want it and I’ve got stories to tell, then why not?” he said.
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Certainly, this is good news for those hoping for more stories to be told with these characters. Stay tuned for that full interview with Knight covering “A Thousand Blows,” “Star Wars,” and more on Bingeworthy. – Additional reporting by Mike DeAngelo.