Cillian Murphy to star in ‘Blood Runs Coal’ film adaptation

Cillian Murphy has reportedly been tapped to star in a film adaptation of Blood Runs Coal for Universal Pictures.

According to Deadline Hollywood, Universal Pictures “completed a pre-emptive acquisition” of Mark A. Bradley’s Blood Runs Coal: The Yablonski Murders and the Battle for the United Mine Workers of America two days before the 2024 Oscars.

Murphy will reportedly star and produce the film, while the movie has yet to have a director attached to it. Jez Butterworth (Spectre, Ford v Ferrari) and John-Henry Butterworth (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) – who together worked on Edge Of Tomorrow – will write the script.

Cillian Murphy. (Photo by Elyse Jankowski/WireImage)

The upcoming film – which has yet to receive a release date – is based on Bradley’s 2020 book of the same name. The book follows the 1969 murder of mining union organiser Joseph “Jock” Yablonski, who was killed at home with his wife and daughter. The killings came after Yablonski campaigned against a corrupt union leader, and sparked a lengthy investigation that unveiled shady dealings within the coal industry.

However, while Yablonski was killed along with his wife and daughter, their son Chip – whom Cillian Murphy will reportedly portray in the film – was not at home at the time of the massacre, and made it his life mission to get the corrupt union leader locked up.

Cillian Murphy, winner of the Best Actor in a Leading Role award for ‘Oppenheimer’, at the 96th Annual Academy Awards on March 10, 2024 in Hollywood, California. CREDIT: Getty/Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Cillian Murphy won the Oscar for Best Actor earlier this month for his work in Oppenheimer. During his Oscars acceptance speech, Murphy said he was “a very proud Irishman”, before reflecting on Oppenheimer‘s themes.

“We made a film about the man who created the atomic bomb and, for better or worse, we’re all living in Oppenheimer’s world,” he said. “So I’d really like to dedicate this to the peacemakers everywhere.”

As well as Best Actor, Oppenheimer took a further six awards during the night including Best Picture and Best Director for Christopher Nolan. Most recently, Murphy was recently confirmed to return to the role of Thomas ‘Tommy’ Shelby for a Peaky Blinders film.

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