Major spoilers for Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man are ahead! Read with caution, and stream both the original series and this movie with a Netflix subscription.
The premiere of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man on Netflix’s 2026 schedule marked the end of an era for Cillian Murphy’s iconic character, Tommy Shelby. After six seasons of fighting, his story came to a close at the hands of his son, Duke (Barry Keoghan), and Tim Roth’s villain Beckett. So, I asked Roth about filming this final moment, and he told me why it left him thinking, “People are gonna fucking hate me.”
At the end of The Immortal Man, Tommy Shelby dies. In a lot of ways, this frees him, as his son Duke delivers the final shot that ultimately kills him. However, it's Beckett who fires the shots that lead to this tragic fate. When I asked Roth about his thoughts regarding this moment in the new streaming movie, he said:
Article continues belowI just thought ‘People are gonna fucking hate me,’ because, you know, I put him on the ground, and then put him in the hands of [Duke].
To be the guy who takes down Tommy Shelby will certainly lead to strong feelings from fans. Plus, the way it happens is quite visceral, as Beckett drives a car full-speed ahead at Tommy while shooting his gun. Ultimately, he does hit the former leader of the Peaky Blinders, but Murphy’s character gets the last shot, as he ultimately kills Beckett with a bullet to the head.
That’s what leads to Duke tackling Tommy out of the way. However, the damage is done, and Tommy asks his son to kill him, marking the end of his story.
Thinking about all this and the history and baggage that comes with Peaky Blinders, Roth was aware of the pressure surrounding this situation. To that point, he said:
It's that thing, because there's so much love for this, for the show, for the characters and so on, I thought, ‘Oh my God.’ But also that makes me kind of laugh, too.
I mean, to be the guy (partially) responsible for the death of Tommy Shelby would leave me feeling overwhelmed and maybe laughing too.
However, it’s also a great way for the character to go out. As I noted in my review of The Immortal Man, the closure this movie gives to Tommy’s story is fantastic. That’s specifically because its done in a way that highlights his relationship with his son and the legacy of the Peaky Blinders. That father-son relationship is also what Pulp Fiction actor found fascinating about all this, as he told me:
The father-son thing is kind of interesting. And it's come up again. It's interesting how Barry talks about it, for example, and how Cillian talks about it, because they actually are coming from very different perspectives. And then when [the creator Steven Knight was] talking about your mum, and all of that. And I suppose there are moments that come up in the film where I present a parental element to Duke and to the audience, too.
Throughout the project that was released on the 2026 movie schedule, Beckett uses Duke’s relationship with Tommy to his own advantage. He manipulates Duke’s estranged relationship with his dad, and that gets him what he wants (until it doesn’t). Overall, it’s a fascinating dynamic all around, and I totally agree with Roth, as he told me that he found all this “intriguing.”
Overall, I see why Beckett's shooting Tommy left Roth feeling like fans would hate him. I mean, he is the character who helped put an end to the immortal man. However, I also think this was a very poetic way for Tommy to go out.
As Roth’s character manipulated and used Duke, Tommy returned to Birmingham for one final battle. And I think it was all one epic way for this Peaky Blinder's story to conclude.
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