Peaky Blinders is back, and it has a new generation of Shelbys at its centre.
Jamie Bell and Charlie Heaton have been cast as the leads of the new Netflix and BBC series, creator Steven Knight has announced, with filming already underway in Birmingham.
Bell will take on the role of Duke Shelby, the eldest son of Tommy Shelby, the character made iconic by Cillian Murphy across six seasons of the original show and the recent Netflix film Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Duke was previously played by Conrad Khan in the final season of the original series and by Barry Keoghan in The Immortal Man.
A recast had been widely anticipated given that the new series is set a full decade after the events of the film, moving the story into post-war Birmingham in the early 1950s.
Heaton, best known internationally for playing Jonathan Byers across all five seasons of Stranger Things, joins Bell in a leading role, though details of his character have not yet been revealed.
The show’s announcement hints he may be leading the new generation of the Shelby gang alongside Duke.
Jessica Brown Findlay, Lashana Lynch and Lucy Karczewski, who makes her television debut with the role, have also been cast, though their characters remain under wraps for now.
Knight was clearly energised by the announcement. “I am thrilled that we are announcing a new era of Peaky Blinders, moving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 50s,” he said.
“We are incredibly fortunate to have Jamie Bell taking the role of Tommy Shelby’s oldest son, Duke, and to have Charlie Heaton also leading the cast. There are more exciting cast announcements to come, and Peaky is on the road again.”
The official logline sets the scene for what promises to be a darker, more ambitious chapter.
Duke Shelby is described as “older, wiser, more ambitious, and most certainly more dangerous” as he finds himself at the heart of a brutal contest to rebuild Birmingham in the aftermath of the war.
The announcement comes as The Immortal Man continues to dominate Netflix, sitting at number one globally for two consecutive weeks since its release on 20 March.
