What happened to Finn in Peaky Blinders? The Immortal Man skips over him for a very real-world reason
Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man arrived on Netflix on 20 March 2026 and reunited nearly every surviving Shelby — Cillian Murphy's Tommy, Sophie Rundle's Ada, Uncle Charlie, Johnny Dogs. One brother, though, is neither seen nor mentioned. Arthur's absence gets a brutal explanation on screen. Finn's gets nothing at all. The reason sits entirely off screen.
The real-world reason
Harry Kirton, who played Finn from series 2 through to 6, simply didn't want to come back. He said as much during press for series 6, telling Heatworld that starring in the show had been an honour, but:
"I don't want to be doing this into my mid to late 20s," Kirton told Heatworld in 2022.
He went further with Metro, explaining he feared being pigeonholed and that staying in the role could give his career a difficult trajectory — adding, "with all due respect, I want to move on and just keep that love."
Creator Steven Knight took him at his word: Finn was left out of the script entirely, with no recast and no acknowledgement.
Where the story left Finn
His last appearance still stings. In the series 6 finale in 2022, Finn refused to execute the traitor Billy Grade, so Duke Shelby pulled the trigger himself — then banished Finn from the family and the company. Finn's parting shot was a promise to come back for Duke.
The Immortal Man, set against the Second World War, skips straight past all of it. The vow just hangs there.
What about Arthur?
Paul Anderson is absent too, but at least the film addresses it: Arthur died two years before its events, and Tommy — it's eventually revealed — strangled his opium-addicted brother in a drunken rage after Arthur stole from him. The flashbacks obscure the character's face; Anderson doesn't appear. Knight told The Hollywood Reporter in 2026 that "the story determines the cast, and the story was set."
Could Finn return?
Quite possibly — just not with the same face. Knight has confirmed two further series set in 1953, thirteen years after the film, centred on Duke and the next generation of Shelbys. A banished brother with an open revenge vow is about as ready-made a villain as television gets. But Kirton has shown no appetite for it, and Barry Keoghan — who took over Duke from Conrad Khan for the film — has ruled himself out of a return too.
Kirton did turn up to the premiere, mind. Some love for the show clearly survived. The role just didn't.