The final chapter of Thomas Shelby’s story is now playing on Netflix, and it begins with the legendary gangster living completely alone. Steven Knight, the creator of Peaky Blinders, has opened up about why Tommy chose a life of solitude before the events of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, revealing that the character’s isolation came from a darkness that even he could not escape.
The movie, which premiered on Netflix on March 20, 2026, picks up six years after the series finale. Instead of running his empire, Tommy is found in a countryside villa, withdrawn from the world and spending his days writing. He is no longer the sharp-suited politician or the feared crime lord. He is a man trying to outrun his past.
The Weight of Killing His Own Brother
The biggest reason for Tommy’s isolation is revealed early in the film. In the years between the series and the movie, Tommy killed his own brother, Arthur Shelby (Paul Anderson). This act, which Knight describes as breaking “all of his own codes,” became the burden that forced Tommy to step away from everything.
“We find him in a place where he’s withdrawn from the world. He’s haunted by the things he’s done. And we learn that there’s another reason why he’s so haunted, and it’s because he killed his brother.”
For a man whose entire life was built on protecting family, taking his brother’s life was unforgivable. Knight explained that throughout the series, Tommy always justified his violent actions by saying they were for the good of the family. Killing Arthur took away that justification entirely.
“Here’s a man who spent his life protecting family. Everything was about family. The reason he gave for the bad things he did is because it was good for the family. So this has broken all of his own codes.”
A King Who Refused His Crown
The movie presents Tommy as a shadow of his former self. Gone are the three-piece suits and the commanding presence. In his place is a quiet, grieving man who wears glasses and simple clothes. He spends his time writing a book for his children, trying to leave behind lessons he never knew how to teach them while they were growing up.
Knight described this version of Tommy as someone who has become a ghost in his own world. One critic noted that the film presents “a king who refuses his crown” and “an Immortal Man cursed to remain among the living.”
Tommy’s isolation is so complete that when a young man in a pub does not recognize him, there is a moment of dark humor. But the scene also shows how far he has fallen from the days when his name alone commanded respect across Birmingham.
The Wartime Experience That Defined Him
Knight has always traced Tommy’s complicated relationship with life and death back to his experiences in World War I. In the trenches, Tommy and his fellow soldiers found themselves trapped in no man’s land, certain they were going to die. When they survived, they made a pact.
“They all said to each other, from now on everything’s a bonus. Everything is extra.”
This mindset followed Tommy throughout his life. He never fully believed he should still be alive, which is why he took so many risks and why death never truly scared him. Knight called this the reason Tommy “always walked this tightrope between life and death. And in a sense that means he’s immortal.”
The movie’s title, The Immortal Man, came to Knight before he fully understood what it meant. But as he wrote the script, he realized it perfectly captured Tommy’s psychology. A man who should have died in the war but kept living, always waiting for death to finally catch up.
What Pulled Him Back
Tommy’s quiet life of isolation is interrupted by a visit from a gypsy queen, played by Rebecca Ferguson. She tells him that he must return to Birmingham to save his son, Duke Shelby (Barry Keoghan), who has been running the Peaky Blinders in his absence but has gotten involved with dangerous people.
“For family, he’s invited to come back to the world and save his son. And that’s what he does.”
But even as Tommy agrees to return, the cost continues to mount. His sister Ada (Sophie Rundle) is killed on the street in a brutal attack. Her death becomes the final push Tommy needs to complete his last mission. Knight revealed that Ada was a character close to his heart, named after his own grandmother. “She was a force of nature and someone who held the family together all through the series.”
A Legacy That Will Continue
While Tommy Shelby’s story ends with his death in the film—asking his son Duke to give him mercy as he bleeds out from gunshot wounds—the world of Peaky Blinders is far from over. Knight has confirmed that a new series is already in production, set in 1953, following a new generation of the Shelby family as Birmingham rebuilds after World War II.
The new series, which has received a two-season order from Netflix, will explore what happens to the gang after Tommy’s death. Knight has described it as “the new generation of Shelbys” taking the wheel.
Cillian Murphy, who played Tommy for over a decade, is attached as a producer on the new project, though it remains unclear if he will appear in flashback scenes. The first six seasons of Peaky Blinders are streaming on BBC iPlayer, and The Immortal Man is now available on Netflix worldwide.
Also Read: Rebecca Ferguson Explains Why She Joined ‘Peaky Blinders’ Movie and If She’d Return for More
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