There was a reason why Steven Knight recently kept mum when asked whether Barry Keoghan, who played Tommy Shelby's son in the "Peaky Blinders" film "The Immortal Man", would return in the follow-up series, which would have Keoghan's character Duke as the main character. It has now become clear why that was the case.
The character will now be played by actor Jamie Bell ("Filth", "Snowpiercer"). The casting choice appears to be related to the narrative choice: the sequel series will be set in the 1950s. "The Immortal Man" was set during the Second World War.
“I am thrilled that we are announcing a new era of Peaky Blinders, moving the story to post-war Birmingham in the early 50s,” said Knight in an official statement. “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.”
Coming to Netflix as usual, the series will comprise two seasons of six episodes each, and will follow the events of the original six-season series headlined by Cillian Murphy and "The Immortal Man". Cillian wouldn't be returning, taking into account what happened at the end of the film.
Knight further added that the show will be "rooted in Birmingham and will tell the story of a city rising from the ashes of the Birmingham blitz. The new generation of Shelbys has taken the wheel, and it will be a hell of a ride.”
The official logline says, "In this new era of Peaky Blinders, a decade after World War Two, the race to rebuild Birmingham becomes a brutal contest of mythical dimensions. This is a city of unprecedented opportunity and jeopardy. At its blood-soaked heart is Duke Shelby (Jamie Bell): older, wiser, more ambitious, and most certainly more dangerous."
Other lead cast members include Charlie Heaton ("Stranger Things", "Industry"), Jessica Brown Findlay ("Harlots", "Downton Abbey"), Lashana Lynch ("The Day of The Jackal", "No Time to Die"), and first-time television actress Lucy Karczewski ("Stereophonic").