For an actor of Barry Keoghan’s intensity, some roles are negotiated. Others are destiny. His entry into Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man firmly belongs to the latter.
Speaking during the film’s early 2026 press run, Keoghan revealed that his casting didn’t involve a script, a meeting, or even a full explanation. It took one phone call—barely 30 seconds long—from Cillian Murphy. Murphy, reprising his role as Tommy Shelby while also serving as an executive producer, hadn’t even finished outlining the idea when Keoghan cut him off.
“I said yes before he finished,” Keoghan admitted. “Of course, bro. At the drop of a hat.”
For fans, the moment feels almost mythic—but for Keoghan, it was years in the making. The actor has long spoken about wanting to join Peaky Blinders, only to miss earlier opportunities due to scheduling conflicts or not fitting the specific archetypes required at the time. This time was different. The role, insiders say, was written with Keoghan’s volatile screen presence in mind—a younger, rival force meant to challenge everything the Shelby empire represents.
Set in 1940, amid the Blitz and the chaos of World War II, The Immortal Man pushes the franchise into darker, more generational territory. Tommy Shelby is no longer the young king of Birmingham; he is a scarred veteran returning from exile. Keoghan’s character—still officially unnamed—appears positioned as the face of what comes next. First-look images released by Netflix show him seated at the head of a table, flanked by younger gangsters, suggesting a deliberate “baton pass” within the narrative.
That visual alone has ignited speculation that Keoghan may be playing Duke Shelby, Tommy’s illegitimate son introduced in Season 6, or a similarly elevated protégé designed to carry the story forward. Industry chatter points toward a planned spin-off series set in the 1950s, with Keoghan as its anchor—effectively making him the future of the franchise.
Despite his BAFTA win and Oscar nomination, Keoghan admitted that stepping into the Peaky mythos came with rare nerves. The moment that hit him hardest wasn’t the violence or the period accents—it was the language. “I feel like I shouldn’t be allowed to say it,” he confessed, referring to the show’s sacred phrase. Saying “By order of the Peaky Blinders” made the weight of the legacy feel real.
Directed by Tom Harper and written by Steven Knight, The Immortal Man is being framed as both a finale and a launchpad: the end of Tommy Shelby’s war, and the beginning of something colder, younger, and less sentimental.
If that’s true, then the most important decision in the franchise’s future didn’t happen in a writers’ room or a board meeting. It happened in a 30-second phone call—answered without hesitation.