Peaky Blinders VR Game Recasts Helen McCrory
Peaky Blinders has had massive cultural impact, mostly on British geezers who think they're Tommy Shelby after one or two pints. These people aside, Peaky Blinders is among the best offerings in the BBC's wheelhouse in the 21st Century - shattering viewing figure expectations and coming through with a movie set to end its bold narrative.
Though the series might be over, fans have plenty to look forward to - including a bold new VR game. But that same game is making a tough choice that's sure to upset a lot of fans.
Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom Will Recast Helen McCrory
Click to enlargeIn a new interview with MCV, the Chief Creative Officer at Maze Theory, the developers of Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom, has revealed that the team behind the game made the hard decision to recast Aunt Polly. This comes after the sad passing of Helen McCrory.
"It was important to the authenticity to the world we were creating to have the iconic characters from Peaky Blinders played by the original talent," says Vince Pavey, on getting Cillian Murphy involved with the project. It's great news to have the OG talent on board, but after McCrory's death, the team had to rethink their approach to Aunt Polly's arc.
Pavey continued, "We were fortunate enough to have Cillian Murphy, Paul Andersen and Helen McCrory all agreeing to be involved with the project from the start. Not just in likeness but also agreeing to reprise their roles. [...] Sadly, with film production delays due to covid and then the sudden passing of Helen McCrory we did not have the opportunity to work with Helen."
The Peaky Blinders Game Has A New Polly
Pavey goes on to reveal that the role of Polly has been granted to Ruth Gibson. She's no stranger to video games, playing Nicole Hunter in James Bond 007: Blood Stone and Sabrina Gleissvig in The Witcher 2. "After much deliberation we felt we really wanted to honour Helen, and to really create a legacy of the character in Polly that she had created. Working with the showrunners, and family estate, Ruth Gibson was cast. She has done the most amazing and formidable job in really capturing the spirit of Polly without just trying to mimic Helen’s performance."
Though the recasting might rub a lot of fans the wrong way, it was either recast or have a Peaky Blinders game without Aunt Polly, which just wouldn't feel right. It shouldn't matter anyway, because if the words of Pavey are to be believed, then we're at least in safe hands with Gibson.
