Empire Magazine Issue 449 (February 2026) Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man - Cillian Murphy and Steven Knight are back to bring Peaky Blinders into a whole new era. The pair – plus incoming star cast members Barry Keoghan and Rebecca Ferguson – talk Empire through the film that brings the global smash gangster saga to the big screen.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - After 28 Years Later proved all the rage, the story continues in a weirder, wilder sequel. Director Nia DaCosta – and cast members Jack O’Connell and Ralph Fiennes – tell Empire about bringing Danny Boyle and Alex Garland’s horror saga into a strange new world.

Matt Damon & Ben Affleck - On screen and on scripting duties, the pair have been regular collaborators – and as they ready their latest team-up, crime thriller The Rip, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck unite for a joint interview about their partnership over decades of movies.

Richard Linklater On Nouvelle Vague - The second new Richard Linklater movie of 2025 is an homage to – and making-of story for – Jean-Luc Godard’s game-changing French New Wave Breathless, aka A Bout De Souffle. Linklater writes exclusively for Empire on channeling one of his director heroes.

Review Of The Year 2025 - That’s a wrap, folks! The year is (almost) over, and it’s been full of cinematic (and televisual) excellence. Inside the mag, we celebrate the best of the best, including…

Sinners - Officially Empire’s film of the year, Ryan Coogler’s vampire original is a thrilling instant classic. We spoke to him about the reception to the film, and heading into uncharted territory.

Andor - Talk about sticking the landing. Star Wars’ extraordinary tale of rebellion, Imperialism, and its human cost came to a thunderous close with its time-hopping Season 2. Writer Dan Gilroy opens up about that pivotal Mon Mothma speech.

Weapons - Has a film finale given us more joy this year than Weapons? Probably not. Aunt Gladys herself, Amy Madigan, talks taking on the year’s most legendary villain – and filming those incredible final moments.

First Word - This month’s news section blasts off with Phil Lord and Christopher Miller to talk Project Hail Mary; dives into the directorial debut of Kristen Stewart, The Chronology Of Water; steps up to the table with Marty Supreme director Josh Safdie; talks bloody satire with No Other Choice’s Park Chan-wook; meets the new players in Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come; explores the phenomenon of high-end movie merch, and much more.

Final Cut - In the home entertainment section, we burn rubber with F1 director Joseph Kosinski; get the story of the shot on Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan’s heartbreaking Spock farewell; go gag-by-gag on The Naked Gun with Akiva Schaffer; rank the movies of John Hughes; give Agnès Varda’s Cleo From 5 To 7 the Masterpiece treatment; and plenty more.

Reviews - In this issue, you’ll find reviews of Chloé Zhao’s deeply emotional Hamnet; Park Chan-wook’s anti-capitalist riot No Other Choice; Josh Safdie’s sweaty-palmed table-tennis drama Marty Supreme; Paul Feig’s starry adaptation of The Housemaid; Joachim Trier’s affecting family drama Sentimental Value; the full uncut Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair; and many more.

Check out the Empire website.