We've got an update on the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries movie...
The Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries movie officially has a script and title! Every Cloud Productions, the studio behind the TV show, took to Facebook yesterday to share a photo of series stars Essie Davis (Phryne) and Nathan Page (Jack) holding copies of the script. The photo was captioned:
UPDATE: Phryne and Jack reunited again! Essie Davis and Nathan Page were in Melbourne recently to talk to the Every Cloud Productions team about the latest Miss Fisher installment; feature film Miss Fisher & The Crypt of Tears. They were both given advanced copies of the film script as we continue to develop and pursue financing.
That's right. The Miss Fisher movie is called Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears. (Probably the tears of Jazz Age misogynists, if the glorious TV show is anything to go by...)
Here's everything else we know about the planned movie trilogy...
Miss Fisher Movie Trilogy
We've written before about Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, the Australian period drama about a lady detective, that has become a cult hit around the world thanks in large part to Netflix. Despite Miss Fisher's international success, it's been a while since we've gotten new episodes of the Australian drama due to the relocation of its talented leading lady Essie Davis (Game of Thrones, The Babadook) who moved from Australia to London along with director husband Justin Kurzel (Assassin's Creed) following the third season of the show.
According to Australia's Herald Sun, Miss Fisher creators Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger have plans for a movie trilogy a la Indiana Jones starring beloved Phryne Fisher. (That also explains the first film's title.)
The movie would see Phryne go on cases around the world and would film in London, accommodating Davis' relocation. We even have a potential timeline. With Davis and Eagger set to go to Los Angeles in January to look for financial backers, the movie is looking to begin filming in the second half of 2017 for a 2018 release.
The fact that the movie is not yet financed might seem like a big, uncertain obstacle for its progress and it is, but I don't think Eagger is exaggerating when she says the Miss Fisher fanbase is "so passionate." Last summer, CEO Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos told The Sydney Morning Herald that he has friends "constantly asking" when Netflix will get another season of Miss Fisher.
Eagger and Cox spoke about the first film's plot last year, saying:
We want it to be like the Indiana Jones movies. We might not have Steven Spielberg's budget but that is what [Phryne Fisher] is — an action hero. She got to be able to fly the world ... It could be Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears so she has to go to Arabia. We'd love to go to India. We have fun thinking about the destinations.
It's just nice to have some confirmation that this fictional world isn't finished. Which brings us to our next bit of information...
Miss Fisher Prequel TV Show
Eagger and Cox's Miss Fisher plans don't end with a movie trilogy. They also have a prequel TV spin-off in mind focused on a younger version of Phryne on some of her first mysteries. The show is tentatively titled: Miss Fisher's First Murder Mysteries, and it already has author Kerry Greenwood's blessing. Eagger explains the rough synopsis of the show:
That will be a younger Phryne Fisher. She is 18, her family has come into money, and she’s in the UK at a finishing school. She gets word that her best friend from Melbourne is charged of murder and is heading for the gallows. She escapes [from the finishing school] and comes back [to Australia] to save her friend ... On the run is where she learns a lot of her [sleuthing] skills.
The Miss Fisher creators will be looking for financing on the prequel TV show soon with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (where Miss Fisher also originally airs) as a potential backer.