Steven Knight addressed one of the most talked-about moments in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man following the film’s release. The creator explained the reasoning behind Tommy Shelby’s final decision while keeping the interpretation restrained.
Why Tommy Shelby does that in Peaky Blinders movie explained
In an interview with ScreenRant, Steven Knight confirmed that he always planned Tommy Shelby’s final actions in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man as part of the story’s ending. After Beckett shoots him, Tommy asks Duke to kill him, ensuring his death while passing his legacy to his successor.
Steven Knight stated, “It was always going to happen, and it was a debate of how it would happen,” adding that it became clear it “should be done by his successor.” He emphasized, “This is about legacy and succession,” directly tying Tommy’s choice to passing leadership to Duke.
In the final confrontation, Tommy takes fatal gunshots while killing Beckett, showing that he actively accepts his fate. He then asks Duke to deliver the final blow, making the act a deliberate transfer of power rather than an accidental or forced death.
Knight further explained that Tommy had “always had… he’s been half in love with easeful death” and “always been ambivalent about life and death.” This context establishes that Tommy’s decision aligns with his long-standing internal conflict regarding survival and mortality.
The moment reflects earlier themes in the series, where succession requires one leader to fall. This is seen in conflicts like Michael Gray’s challenge. By choosing to die and having Duke carry it out, Tommy fulfills that pattern. He also ensures a controlled transition of authority.
Knight’s explanation confirms that Tommy structures his final act around the story’s central themes rather than a sudden twist. By choosing to die through Duke, he reinforces the narrative’s focus on legacy, succession, and his long-established relationship with death.
Talking about it, Cillian Murphy himself said, “I felt that the line in this that I think Tommy says is the only person that could ever kill Tommy Shelby was Tommy Shelby himself… It wasn’t like a murder or an assassination… It was like passing him over to the realm of, I don’t know, release or something. Yeah, in peace.”
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on ComingSoon.net.
