'Robin Hood' director Otto Bathurst says a 'Peaky Blinders' film script is being written (exclusive)

Production on Peaky Blinders season five is well underway but we could soon be getting a movie too.

That’s according to Otto Bathurst, the director behind the first three episodes of season one, who says that series creator Steven Knight is busy penning a screenplay for it.

“I think it’s actually being written,” Bathurst told Yahoo Movies UK during an interview for his new film Robin Hood. “I think Steve, Steve Knight the writer, I think they’re planning something, yeah.”

In 2016, Knight said there had been discussions about doing a movie, and last year he firmed up that statement by saying it was “probably going to” happen though this is the first we’ve heard of an actual script.

Cillian Murphy, who leads the show as Tommy Selby, didn’t seem too convinced by the idea of a movie when he was asked by Deadline: ” I’m sort of ambivalent about it…It’s kind of a sexy idea, but I’ll reserve judgment until the idea is presented to me.”

Bathurst won a BAFTA for his work on the Birmingham-set gangster series though when it comes to directing the movie, he says Knight and the producers “haven’t asked me yet.”

The director makes his silver screen debut with the latest adaptation of the Robin Hood tale, with Taron Egerton playing the titular role.

Bathurst says that his film and Peaky Blinders are similar in that they are not slaves to history

“Peaky Blinders, Birmingham didn’t look anything like that in 1919,” he explains. “There are some movies that are historical lessons and I love them and they are great, there are some movies that are great and happen to be set in a certain time.

“I feel strongly that the Robin Hood story doesn’t belong to any specific time.”

Robin Hood is in cinemas from 21 November

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