characters in Peaky Blinders.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Cole its to feeling "gutted" that he was going to be the villain of the final season, and reveals that this was not the original intention, but plans had to change due to multiple factors, including the pandemic, and the death of Polly actress Helen McCrory between Peaky Blinders season 5 and 6. Cole reveals he doesn't believe the final season was intended to be Michael versus Tommy, but that events in real life impacted the direction the final season would ultimately wind up taking. Check out Cole's full comments below:

I talking to Cillian Murphy right as the world was shutting down, and he mentioned how he’d just read all the scripts for Peaky Blinders’ final season. And then everything changed due to the pandemic and the great Helen McCrory’s tragic ing. Was the final season always going to be some degree of Michael versus Tommy?

I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I don’t think so. With what had happened and the time that it took and certain actors being unavailable for different reasons, things had to change. Between seasons, I would see Steven Knight once or twice, and he’d tell me about the whole of the next season. He’d explain every detail in every episode, and it would blow my mind.

Then, I’d see him two months later, and it’d be completely different. And when I’d actually get my hands on the scripts, it’d be changed again because that’s the brilliant mind that Steven has.

I think things did evolve for the final season, but in how I took on the role and how that role developed, we found an opportunity. Cillian said to me in season four or season five: “Tommy has all of these threats around him at all times. That’s the life that he leads. Some of them are these irresolvable dilemmas, one of which is his addiction issues.

And the other one is that the next generation is going to come through. For people like him, the next generation are the most dangerous people because they come with new ideas, and that’s scary to him.”

In season five, there’s a scene where Michael pitched this fantastic idea to Tommy about how to run the business and how he could take a backseat so Michael could take over. And it was a brilliant idea. It was faultless. There was no reason why Tommy should turn it down apart from the fact that he’s threatened by the next generation’s bigger and better moves. So that was always in the back of Cillian’s mind when we were working together, and that seemed to come to fruition in season six.

In all honesty, I was gutted because I was such a fan of the gang and that world. So I was like, “Oh, damn, I’m going to be a villain.” But once I embraced it, I had a lot of fun, and we were able to really take it to the next level. Now, what’s really cool is people send me all these threats and are really nasty to me. I actually really like it.

People on the street will come up to me and be like, “I love you, but I hate you.” And that’s the biggest compliment that we can get as actors. It means that we did our job right, and I’m looking forward to playing another villain again, I must say.

What These Comments Mean For Michael's Peaky Blinders Arc

Things Could Have Panned Out Differently

There was tension between Michael and Tommy throughout season 5, and, as Cole mentions, Michael felt increasingly more sidelined in a business sense, with Tommy evidently fearing a coup from his young cousin. However, Polly was always there as the mediator between the two, and once McCory ed, and the character was killed off, the natural direction for Michael's character was to blame Tommy, and turn against him. It could well have been that, had McCrory not died, and Polly had been in Peaky Blinders season 6, Michael's arc could have been very different.

Michael was one of the most morally complex characters in Peaky Blinders, and though he eventually betrays the Shelbys, his motivations can be understood.

However, it is difficult to know definitively what Knight may or may not have planned for the character, and for the final season. And the three-year gap between season 5 and 6, as a result of the pandemic, could also have impacted plans for the final season. Ultimately, Michael's arc, and his conflict with Tommy, which ends with the latter executing him in the finale episode, felt like it fit well with his character, and Michael's place in the show, and it felt like at least one of him or Tommy were going to kill one another by the end.

Our Verdict On Michael's Peaky Blinders Fate

The Character Went Out In A Fitting Way

Michael was one of the most morally complex characters in Peaky Blinders, and though he eventually betrays the Shelbys, his motivations can be understood. Once his marriage to Gina began to fuel his ambition, and establish him as a prominent figure in US organized crime, it was only a matter of time before Michael would want to be more involved in the Shelby affairs. Tommy's reluctance to trust him, coupled with his mother's death, set Michael on his path, and ultimately fulfilled Polly's prediction that once there would be a war, one of them would die.

But, while Michael's fate was a fitting end to his character, his role as the show's final villain doesn't translate to the story as a whole. The Peaky Blinders movie, The Immortal Man, is expected to continue the story of the Shelbys after the events of the TV show, which means new threats to the family are likely to crop up. However, it also signals a deeper exploration of the consequences of the antagonist's death, which could have unforeseen consequences depending on the events that unfold. Michael's ending could even be foreshadowing how Tommy's own final moments play out.

The Immortal Man wrapped filming on December 13, 2024, and will be released on Netflix at an undisclosed date.

How Michael's Death Could Influence Peaky Blinders' Future

His Ending Is Both A Conclusion & A Turning Point

The Immortal Man is just one project in the franchise that's currently in development. Peaky Blinders' ending may have opened the door for more unique darkness in later installments of the franchise.

Although Cole was originally disappointed in Michael being the show's final villain, the turn opened the door for plenty of unexpected events to define later projects in the series. It also gave his character a fitting end, giving Peaky Blinders the perfect way to show what Tommy will do to maintain his family's power. It's something that will likely translate to the movie as his final appearance is defined by his family's power. Since the series finale set up conflicts the movie might be tackling too, the final antagonist's presence will still be felt, even if he doesn't show up.

Source: THR