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Sandra Barrera ‘I would never say never to Phryne, but it has to be a story that’s worth telling.’

The stylish heiress-turned-sleuth resurfaces in the new movie ‘Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears’. She tells it was a joy to play the role again.

says Fiona Eagger, one half of Every Cloud Productions, the Sydney-based creators of the Miss Fisher series and film.

Fans grieving the loss of the series certainly wanted more. Across social media, from the Miss Phryne Fisher’s Secret Society group on Facebook to The Miss Fisher Philes Podcast, people continue to worship the plucky Jazz Age detective and fantasised about where her relationship with Detective Inspector Jack Robinson should go next. They praise 1920s fashions and Art Deco style and celebrate all things Miss Fisher.

The fandom even extends into the real world with Miss Fisher Con, an annual gathering hosted by The Adventuresses’ Club of the Americas in different cities in the US.

So Eagger and writer Deb Cox hatched a plan that would require a shorter commitment from Davis: What if they made a film?

Every Cloud Production launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 intending to raise A$250,000. Within the first 24 hours, they surpassed that amount. And by the end of the campaign, they had raised more than A$700,000.

That amount, coupled with additional financing, was instrumental in helping continue the story of where the series left off.

In that final episode, Phryne is about to pilot her troublesome father back to England when she sees Robinson – Jack, played by Nathan Page – approaching by car.

She jumps out of the cockpit and runs to meet him.

As they stand facing each other on the airfield, Phryne makes a romantic gesture to Jack by calling on him to ‘‘come after me’’.

‘‘You know, he never did,’’ Davis says with a laugh.

Crypt of Tears picks up a year later on the lawn of a grand London manor where Jack has come to pay his final respects to Phryne.

She’s presumed dead after trying to save a young Bedouin woman who seeks justice for the slaughter of her entire village during the Great War. Just as Jack takes the podium, Phryne’s plane comes flying overhead for a surprise landing.

And that’s where the adventure takes off. ‘‘There was so much pressure to deliver something [the fans] could love,’’ Cox says, adding that this includes building on the unresolved sexual tension that is so much a part of the relationship between Jack and Phryne.

The film, which had its American world premiere in January at the Palm Springs International Film Festival, also has action sequences, from a parkour chase through Jerusalem to riding atop fastmoving trains.

And like the series, it’s openended. ‘‘We did leave it on a bit of a ‘Who knows what will happen next?’ ’’ Davis says. ‘‘There are lots of ideas for where it can go, but it’s also a complete film.’’

– TNS

Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears is available to stream on Lightbox and other services now.

ESSIE DAVIS