Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is an upcoming Australian mystery and adventure film directed by Tony Tilse and starring Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher. It is based on the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries television series and the series of Phryne Fisher novels written by Kerry Greenwood.

Australian entertainment outlet Inside Film summarizes the plot: "After freeing a young Bedouin girl from her unjust imprisonment in Jerusalem, Phryne Fisher begins to unravel a decade-old mystery concerning priceless emeralds, ancient curses and the truth behind the suspicious disappearance of Shirin’s forgotten tribe." British aristocrats whose lives were impacted by the events of World War I in Palestine become caught up in the mystery as well.

Cast

 * Essie Davis as Phryne Fisher
 * Nathan Page as Detective Inspector Jack Robinson
 * Miriam Margolyes as Prudence Stanley
 * Ashleigh Cummings as Dot Williams
 * Hugo Johnstone-Burt as Hugh Collins
 * Rupert Penry-Jones as Jonathon Lofthouse
 * Daniel Lapaine as Lord Lofthouse
 * Jacqueline McKenzie as Lady Lofthouse
 * Kal Naga as Sheikh Kahlil Abbas
 * John Waters as Professor Linnaeus
 * Izabella Yena as Shirin Abbas
 * John Stanton as Crippins
 * William Zappa as Assist Commissioner Forsythe
 * Ian Bliss as Vincent Montague 'Monty'
 * Brice Bexter as Captain Templeton

Production
A stand-alone action-adventure feature film, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears will pick up the story from the end of the third series. It began production in October 2018 and will star Essie Davis, Nathan Page, and other members of the original television series, along with new guest stars Rupert Penry-Jones, Daniel Lapaine and Jacqueline McKenzie. The film is budgeted at $8 million and was be directed by Tony Tilse. It wrapped production in late November, 2018.

Since 2016, there had been speculation on the possibility that the television series would be made into a feature film. In May 2016, Essie Davis acknowledged interest in playing Miss Fisher in a film. "[We’re] just working out the ideas of how to make it bigger and better and more fabulous than the TV show," she said. Later that year, it was revealed that plans were afoot to produce a trilogy of Phryne Fisher films.

In April 2017, a photo was published on the official Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries Instagram account showing Essie Davis and Nathan Page holding advance copies of a film script titled Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. On 14 September 2017, a crowdfunding campaign was launched on Kickstarter in support of the film. On 15 December 2017, an additional ongoing crowdfunding campaign was begun through IndieGoGo in order to allow fans to continue supporting the effort. The original campaign reached its goal of $250,000 in less than 48 hours.

Following the success of the Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears crowdfunding campaign, Essie Davis reflected on Phryne's appeal to fans: "I think there are many elements to why fans love 'Miss Fisher', but I'm sure it's Phryne's independence with joy. There's something so attractive about being around a happy person". She added, "That burst between Jack and Phryne, there's nothing more attractive that you want to lean into than watching people fall in love with each other." Filming wrapped on November 23, 2018.

Release
Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is planned to be released in cinemas in Australia in 2019.

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears has been acquired by Acorn_TV for North American release. It will premiere on the subscription streaming service following a limited theatrical release in North America. It is Acorn's first venture into theatrical distribution. The streaming service "bought the film sight unseen from the distributor All3Media International and will book US cinemas after the Australian distributor Roadshow sets its release date".