Peaky Blinders is back and has a new generation of Shelby at its core.
Jamie Bell and Charlie Heaton have been cast as the leads in the new Netflix and BBC series, creator Steven Knight announced, and filming is now 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 movie. 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 was widely expected given that the new series is set a decade after the events of the film, moving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 1950s.
Heaton, best known internationally for playing Jonathan Byers in all five seasons of stranger thingsjoins Bell in a starring role, although details about her character have yet to be revealed.
The show’s announcement hints that he could be leading the new generation of the Shelby gang alongside Duke.
Jessica Brown Findlay, Lashana Lynch and Lucy Karczewski, who makes her television debut in the role, have also been cast, although their characters remain under wraps for now.
Knight was clearly excited about the announcement. “I am delighted that we are heralding a new era of Peaky Blindersmoving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 1950s,” he said.
“We are incredibly lucky to have Jamie Bell taking on the role of Tommy Shelby’s eldest son, Duke, and to have Charlie Heaton also leading the cast. There are more exciting casting announcements to come and Peaky is on tour again.”
The official tagline sets the stage for what promises to be a darker, more ambitious chapter.
Duke Shelby is described as “older, wiser, more ambitious and certainly more dangerous” as he finds himself at the center of a brutal fight to rebuild Birmingham after the war.
The announcement comes as The immortal man continues to dominate Netflix, holding the number one spot globally for two consecutive weeks since its launch on March 20.
