Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight has spoken out about the future of the franchise, suggesting there could be further spin-offs after the planned sequel film.
Cillian Murphy leads the cast of the hit crime drama as gangster Tommy Shelby, reprising the role for the show’s final television outing later this week.
The long-awaited new episodes will see him and his clan go up against fascist politician Oswald Mosley (played by Sam Claflin), as Europe teeters on the brink of the Second World War.
Previously, Knight had said that Peaky Blinders would end with the first World War II air raid sirens blaring out over Birmingham, but he has since amended his vision to continue into the tragic conflict in a follow-up movie.
The feature film serves as a substitute of sorts for a once-planned seventh season, which the screenwriter reveals was scrapped amid the chaos caused by COVID-19.
“The reason is boringly practical which is that we lost a year due to the pandemic,” Knight revealed. “The way these things are scheduled – it’s like turning an oil tanker around.”
He continued: “We just felt, also with the loss of Helen [McCrory], that it all seemed to be pointing towards doing what I’m calling ‘the end of the beginning’. Let’s end the beginning, then let’s do the film. And then let’s see where we go in terms of spin-offs.”
With the Peaky Blinders cast being one of the most star-studded on British television – including Hollywood A-listers Murphy, Tom Hardy and Anya Taylor-Joy – there’s certainly no shortage of characters deserving of their own stories.
Read more:
- Peaky Blinders season 6 review: Helen McCrory tribute is a breathtaking triumph
- Peaky Blinders’ Steven Knight on Helen McCrory tribute: “I think we’ve done it right”
- Peaky Blinders creator hopes fans are ”surprised” by Stephen Graham’s character
Peaky Blinders season 6 begins on Sunday 27th February at 9pm on BBC One, and the full series so far is available to stream on BBC iPlayer. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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