What we learned from the first trailer for the new Peaky Blinders film
12 minutes agoPaul GlynnCulture reporter
NetflixThe first full trailer for the new Peaky Blinders film, The Immortal Man, has been released – by order of the people at Netflix.
Following on from Steven Knight’s acclaimed TV drama series, the trailer shows Oscar winner Cillian Murphy reprising his role as flat cap-wearing criminal gang leader Tommy Shelby, returning to Birmingham during World War Two.
New additions to the cast include Dune actress Rebecca Ferguson, Reservoir Dogs actor Tim Roth and Saltburn star Barry Keoghan, who plays Shelby’s son and who seems to need to be set on the right path.
Another award winner, Adolescence’s Stephen Graham also returns.
Here is what we gleaned about the film in slightly more than two minutes:
Tommy must face his demons
NetflixThe film is set in Birmingham in 1940 amid the destruction of World War Two, when a greying and older-looking Shelby is “driven back from a self-imposed exile to face his most destructive reckoning yet”, the film’s press notes tell us.
“With the future of the family and the country at stake, Tommy must face his own demons, and choose whether to confront his legacy, or burn it to the ground.”
On his return, it appears that it’s not the same Small Heath patch that he left and once commanded. Things have changed.
NetflixIn the trailer, Ferguson’s character is seen warning Tommy he lives in “a house haunted with ghosts of people who died because of you…
“You abandoned your kingdom and you abandoned your son,” she notes.
“Your gypsy son is running the Peaky Blinders like it’s 1919, all over again.”
By that she means his newfound illegitimate son and current gang leader Duke Shelby, played by the menacing-looking Keoghan.
“I can’t help him, because I’m not that man any more,” replies Tommy, convincing absolutely no-one, of course – least of all himself.
His son might be a Nazi
NetflixWe’re introduced to Roth’s rather official-looking English gentleman officer character who asks Duke Shelby – in secret – if he is willing to become a traitor.
“I need to know that you are willing to take part in an act of treason that will decide this war for Germany,” he asks.
Duke replies with words to the effect that the world doesn’t give a damn about him, so he doesn’t care about the world either.
That’s a yes, then, we reckon.
NetflixElsewhere, dad Tommy, is grilled by Graham’s returning character Hayden Stagg, before setting off to look for his son.
Inside the old Garrison Tavern, some (if not all) of the younger generation are in need of a history lesson, with the main theme of today’s class being to respect your elders, in no uncertain terms.
“Once, I nearly got… everything,” Tommy is seen explaining to his son, man to man, over a glass of whisky near the end. “But nearly doesn’t count.”
Fontaines DC singer is on the soundtrack
The TV show – which ran from 2013 for six series – was known for its stylish production as much as its metal-tipped criminal substance, and featured tunes by many cool bands and artists.
That seems set to continue, as a new song from Grian Chatten, frontman of the influential Dublin rock band Fontaines DC can be heard soundtracking the trailer.
The lyrics to the haunting piece say: “How does it feel to be a savage and a beast?“
The production notes suggest another new track from Amy Taylor of Australian rockers Amyl & the Sniffers will also feature in the movie.
Other artists who have helped to shape the somewhat sinister Peaky Blinders sound, including Nick Cave, Lankum and McLusky, will also feature, along with Girl In The Year Above and Chatten, both covering Massive Attack.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ 1994 track Red Right Hand provided the famous theme tune for the TV series, and we can expect to hear a new version of that.
When the film is out and how to watch it
NetflixThe Immortal Man is out in “select” cinemas on 6 March.
That’s two weeks ahead of its streaming release on 20 March.
Again written by Knight and directed by Tom Harper, the film will also feature actors including Sophie Rundle (After the Flood), Ned Dennehy (Culprits) and Packy Lee (Blue Lights), as well as Ian Peck (His Dark Materials) and Jay Lycurgo (Steve).
You can check out the trailer below.
After the film, Peaky Blinders is to return to TV to follow the exploits of the new generation of the Shelby family after World War Two.