Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020)
Click to viewA theatrical(ish) continuation of the Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries TV series.
Phryne is in 1929 Palestine, trying to rescue a young local woman from prison. The two make their escape on top of a train, and as they're trying to make their way down into the train, they approach a tunnel that will kill them both if they don't get inside. Cut to a scene of a distraught Dot arriving with Burt and Cec to show Jack and Hugh a newspaper saying Phryne is dead. There's going to be a memorial service in England, and Dot wants to go, but Hugh reminds her she can't go as we then see she's very pregnant. Jack decided to go to the memorial, and it's the last we see of the rest of the crew.
While Jack is about to say a few words at Phryne's service, she literally crashes her own funeral, but doesn't actually crash the plane she's piloting. Because of course she does. Things digress more into a traditional English murder mystery with a thread connecting back to Palestine that eventually leads Phryne, Jack, Shirin (the girl rescued at the beginning), and Jonathon Lofthouse (brother of the English lord in business with Shirin's uncle) eventually make their way there in search of The Crypt of Tears.
Things get a bit woo, with the crypt being tied to Alexander the Great, mysterious jewels, and a deadline marked with a solar eclipse. Think Raiders of the Lost Ark, about seven years earlier. It also feels like there's a setup for a series of films, wth a tease for the idea during the end credits. This had a brief theatrical run in March 2020, right before... you know what happened. With the pandemic affecting even the thought of producing a film that doesn't have major backing, I'm doubting it will happen any time soon, if at all. I wouldn't be against it, but honestly, I prefer the series format, and I've read the lead actress has moved back to England, so a series in Australia probably wouldn't be feasible. Maybe a series of movies, but not necessarily "grand adventure" stuff?
If you're a Jack/Phryne shipper, there's a resolution that I think will make most happy. If you like seeing the rest of the cast, you'll be disappointed that Aunt Prudence gets more screentime than Hugh, Dot, Cec, and Burt put together.