What happened to Arthur Shelby Jr. in the “Peaky Blinders ”movie — and how actor Paul Anderson feels about it

Allison DeGrusheWed, March 25, 2026 at 5:49 PM UTC

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Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby Jr. on 'Peaky Blinders'Credit: NetflixKey Points -

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man marks the return of several beloved characters, including Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby.

One major absence is Tommy's older brother, Arthur Shelby Jr.

His shocking fate is revealed early in the film.

It's been a long wait, but the Peaky Blinders are back.

On March 20, Netflix released Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, picking up the story with Cillian Murphy returning as Tommy Shelby, still as sharp (and dangerous) as ever. The sequel film sees plenty of fan-favorite characters return to the fold, but one absence is impossible to ignore: Arthur Shelby Jr., Tommy's hotheaded older brother and longtime right-hand man.

Paul Anderson played Arthur across all six seasons of the series, and the character was still very much alive when it wrapped in 2022. But the film jumps ahead a few years, and a lot can change in that time.

Here's everything you about what happened to Arthur and why he isn't in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.

What happened to Arthur in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man?

Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby Jr. and Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby on 'Peaky Blinders'Credit: Netflix

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man begins with the news that Arthur Shelby Jr. is dead.

The 1940-set film shows Tommy visiting his older brother's grave, revealing that Arthur died in 1938.

At first, it's believed that Arthur died by suicide. That's the story throughout town, and even the medium Kaulo (Rebecca Ferguson) tells Tommy that people think Arthur "took his own life on the bridge."

But the reality is far worse, and it haunts Tommy throughout the film — it was him who killed Arthur.

Tommy explains that a fight broke out when Arthur asked him for money, which escalated during a confrontation in a car. A struggle broke out and Tommy's gun went off, accidentally killing Arthur.

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And yet even that isn't the full truth. Later, Tommy confesses to the corpse of his sister, Ada (Sophie Thorne), saying, "I killed our brother Arthur. It wasn't an accident. It wasn't an act of mercy. I killed him because I was full of booze and rage."

In a flashback, we see Tommy deliberately strangling Arthur. "I had a moment where I could've spared him," he says, but admits he didn't because he "wanted to be free of him."

"Here's a man who spent his life protecting family. Everything was about family. The reason he gave for the bad things he did is because it was good for the family," Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight previously told Entertainment Weekly. "So this has broken all of his own codes."

What has Paul Anderson said about Arthur Shelby's death?

Cillian Murphy as Tommy Shelby and Paul Anderson as Arthur Shelby Jr. on 'Peaky Blinders'Credit: Netflix

Fans have had mixed feelings about Arthur's fate, but Anderson didn't seem bothered in a chat with LADbible.

"Well, what can you do, eh? It is how it is. I thought I'd just leave them to it. I think it's great," he said.

Anderson admitted he was a bit hesitant about making a film. "I thought we should've just done a couple more seasons, and I didn't see a reason to do a film, to be honest."

Still, Anderson said he was happy with how Arthur's story turned out. "I mean, it's such a powerful thing to do. It's something you don't see on TV," he explained. "Everyone thought, well, everyone knows Arthur's gonna die. I was quite surprised, I was quite nasty sometimes, I weren't very nice to people in it. But people loved me."

Where can I watch Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man?

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man is now streaming on Netflix.

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