{"id":2406,"date":"2026-03-30T13:08:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:08:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/?p=598346"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","slug":"peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man"},"content":{"rendered":"

Duke Shelby’s actor in Peaky Blinders has been recast for the new movie, and now creator Steven Knight has actually explained the real reason why.<\/p>\n

So, if you watched the final series, you\u2019ll remember Duke Shelby, Tommy\u2019s long-lost son, was played by Conrad Khan. By the end of season six, he\u2019d properly stepped into the Peaky Blinders<\/a> world and looked set to have a big future.<\/p>\n

But in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, Duke is now played by Barry Keoghan<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n

So, why was Duke Shelby recast?<\/h2>\n
\"Peaky
via BBC<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking about the decision, Steven Knight explained that the story moves forward quite a bit, and that naturally changed what they needed from the character.<\/p>\n

He told Digital Spy<\/a>, \u201cThe time jump dictated who we were looking for.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knight also made it clear that once they saw Barry Keoghan in the role, it just clicked. He added, \u201cBut equally, it’s one of those castings that the minute the first rushes you look at, you realise it couldn’t have been anybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Knight went on to say, \u201cIt could only have been him because every box is ticked, plus new boxes that he creates are ticked.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dynamic with Tommy is a big deal<\/h2>\n
\"Peaky
via Netflix<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the most interesting bits is how Duke now interacts with Tommy Shelby, played by Cillian Murphy. Knight highlighted just how powerful their scenes are together, even when not much is being said.<\/p>\n

He explained, \u201cTo see Barry and Cillian either side of a bar drinking whiskey and looking at each other and not even saying anything is just magnificent.\u201d<\/p>\n

So their chemistry is a huge part of why this recasting works. With Tommy in self-imposed exile, Duke is now leading the Peaky Blinders, which is a massive shift from where we last saw him.<\/p>\n

And because of that, the recast actually makes sense. It\u2019s less about replacing the old actor and more about evolving the character for where the story\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n

For all the latest Netflix news and drops,\u00a0like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He is now played by Barry Keoghan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":2324,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[167,74,4,12,165],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-barry-keoghan","tag-cillian-murphy","tag-film","tag-netflix","tag-peaky-blinders"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPeaky Blinders creator says why Duke Shelby was recast for movie<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Film Shrine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-30T12:08:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"suchismita@thetab.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"suchismita@thetab.com\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/\",\"name\":\"Peaky Blinders creator says why Duke Shelby was recast for movie\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-30T12:08:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/cad9fb0a6a8ff4aa06d2288daeeed9a1\"},\"description\":\"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/\",\"name\":\"Film Shrine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/cad9fb0a6a8ff4aa06d2288daeeed9a1\",\"name\":\"suchismita@thetab.com\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/3604471100c964d0a24c225796c44d07\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f07ed0134fdf3c2aa1d4438fd774772ce8784d00aa7276594abe1d17f7dd61f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f07ed0134fdf3c2aa1d4438fd774772ce8784d00aa7276594abe1d17f7dd61f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"suchismita@thetab.com\"},\"description\":\"As the Junior Entertainment Writer at The Tab HQ, Suchismita covers everything from pop music and celebrity gossip to the latest entertainment trends. She has a keen eye for what\u2019s trending and isn\u2019t afraid to dig deep into the cultural moments that matter. Before joining The Tab HQ, she was Features Editor at The Tab Bournemouth, where she edited and wrote stories about student life, pop culture, and university news. She also contributed to The Tab national, proving she knows how to write articles that get people talking. In spring 2023, she hosted the Rising Voices Writing Showcase for Black Indigenous People of Colour and later volunteered for the Digital Interactive Storytelling Project in the Community (DISC).\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/author\/suchismitathetab-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Peaky Blinders creator says why Duke Shelby was recast for movie","description":"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man","og_description":"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.","og_url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","og_site_name":"Film Shrine","article_published_time":"2026-03-30T12:08:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png","width":1,"height":1,"type":"image\/png"}],"author":"suchismita@thetab.com","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"suchismita@thetab.com","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","name":"Peaky Blinders creator says why Duke Shelby was recast for movie","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png","datePublished":"2026-03-30T12:08:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/cad9fb0a6a8ff4aa06d2288daeeed9a1"},"description":"Peaky Blinders creator, Stephen Knight, reveals the real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man movie.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#website","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/","name":"Film Shrine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/cad9fb0a6a8ff4aa06d2288daeeed9a1","name":"suchismita@thetab.com","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/3604471100c964d0a24c225796c44d07","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f07ed0134fdf3c2aa1d4438fd774772ce8784d00aa7276594abe1d17f7dd61f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f07ed0134fdf3c2aa1d4438fd774772ce8784d00aa7276594abe1d17f7dd61f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"suchismita@thetab.com"},"description":"As the Junior Entertainment Writer at The Tab HQ, Suchismita covers everything from pop music and celebrity gossip to the latest entertainment trends. She has a keen eye for what\u2019s trending and isn\u2019t afraid to dig deep into the cultural moments that matter. Before joining The Tab HQ, she was Features Editor at The Tab Bournemouth, where she edited and wrote stories about student life, pop culture, and university news. She also contributed to The Tab national, proving she knows how to write articles that get people talking. In spring 2023, she hosted the Rising Voices Writing Showcase for Black Indigenous People of Colour and later volunteered for the Digital Interactive Storytelling Project in the Community (DISC).","url":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/author\/suchismitathetab-com\/"}]}},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/filmshrine.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man","url":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/03\/30\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png"},"articleSection":"Entertainment","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"suchismita@thetab.com"}],"creator":["suchismita@thetab.com"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Film Shrine","logo":"https:\/\/cdn.filmshrine.com\/uploads\/2026\/04\/cropped-The-Tab_Film-Shrine_Favicon.png"},"keywords":["barry keoghan","cillian murphy","film","netflix","peaky blinders"],"dateCreated":"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z","datePublished":"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z","dateModified":"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Peaky Blinders creator reveals real reason Duke Shelby was recast for The Immortal Man\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/filmshrine\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/30\\\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/thetab.com\\\/filmshrine\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/30\\\/peaky-blinders-creator-reveals-real-reason-duke-shelby-was-recast-for-the-immortal-man\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/Suchis-featured-images-29-1.png\"},\"articleSection\":\"Entertainment\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"suchismita@thetab.com\"}],\"creator\":[\"suchismita@thetab.com\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Film Shrine\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cdn.filmshrine.com\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/cropped-The-Tab_Film-Shrine_Favicon.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"barry keoghan\",\"cillian murphy\",\"film\",\"netflix\",\"peaky blinders\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-30T12:08:31Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/filmshrine.com\/p.js"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2406"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2406\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2406"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}