Why Cillian Murphy Compares Peaky Blinders Movie to Oppenheimer After Taking on Nazis

Cillian Murphy draws parallels between Oppenheimer and The Immortal Man, as he elaborates on how viewers should approach it.

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Cillian Murphy has weighed in on The Immortal Man‘s plot ahead of its release, which pits the Peaky Blinders against Nazis teaming up with British gangsters to tank the UK economy. Although the actor found the rise in people aligning with this ideology in today’s landscape “profoundly upsetting”, he stressed it’s not up to his movie to tell people how to feel (via Variety).

Instead, he drew parallels with his Oscar-winning Oppenheimer, explaining that it’s upto viewers whether to interpret it as a surface-level entertaining flick or engage on a deeper level.

If you want to talk about where we are in the world and look at how close we are to nuclear fucking Armageddon, you can think about ‘Oppenheimer’ in that way, but if you just want to look at a great film with big explosions then that’s cool as well.

With the movie set to open in select theaters later this week, the excitement surrounding the faction’s return on the silver screen couldn’t be higher.

Cillian Murphy Assures The Immortal Man Won’t Be Dogmatic

Cillian Murphy isn’t one for preachy works, with 28 Days Later star clarifying that The Immortal Man isn’t The Zone of Interest but a big mainstream action flick with a big heart.

This isn’t to say the movie is devoid of any real substance, as even though Murphy doesn’t adhere to the belief that movies should tell someone how to feel, the actor acknowledged that they should ask questions. On the front, Murphy believes The Immortal Man can also be provocative if one engages on a deeper level, similar to Oppenheimer.

But then this film wears that lightly — it’s not ‘The Zone of Interest,’ let’s put it that way. And, look, the last thing I want to be involved in is preachy or dogmatic work because films should never tell you how to feel. They should just ask questions. This should be an entertaining action film with a big heart, but if you want to look closer it could be provocative too. The best mainstream entertainment operates simultaneously on those levels.

While it remains to be seen how Murphy’s return to the role of Thomas Shelby fares on the big screen, following the stature of the show’s six-season run, there’s little to doubt about Steven Knight’s upcoming effort.

Is The Immortal Man the End of the Road for Cillian Murphy?

For a show that concluded on such a high note, which is no easy feat in the realm of TV series, the decision to extend the story does seem unwarranted on paper, as it risks ruining the legacy of its near-perfect TV run. Knight, however, was adamant about doing a story during the war. Murphy further detailed that they had to ensure the movie was worth realizing, adding that it had to match the quality of the show.

As for what’s next? While nothing is certain, Murphy did describe the movie as a proper “bookend to the whole 36 hours of television”, which suggests this might be his final outing as Thomas Shelby (via The Observer).

The Peaky Blinders franchise, on the flip side, is expected to extend with its planned sequel series, which will see Murphy join as one of the executive producers. For now, it remains to be seen how the upcoming movie is received among the fans of the revered show.

Are you excited for the movie? Comment below!

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man will release in theaters on March 6, 2026, and will be available to stream on Netflix on March 20, 2026.

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