Jodie Comer Talks Giving Up ‘Napoleon’ Role, Reacts to Vanessa Kirby Taking Over the Role

Jodie Comer was originally supposed to play Josephine in the new movie Napoleon, but she had to drop out due to a scheduling conflict.

The 30-year-old actress’ stage run in the play Prima Facie was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic and her West End and Broadway runs interfered with the filming dates for Napoleon.

Jodie was replaced by Oscar-nominated actress Vanessa Kirby, who starred opposite Joaquin Phoenix in the new movie. It’s currently playing in theaters.

In the end, Jodie won the Tony Award and the Olivier Award for her work in the play. She’s now reacting to being replaced by Vanessa!

“Yeah, it was all fine. That was a choice I had to make and I didn’t look back in a sense,” Jodie told THR. “I knew I really wanted to do the film, but now, Josephine is Vanessa’s role. I’m so happy for her and I wish her all the success with that movie. A lot of this industry is sliding doors, and I do feel like I was always supposed to do that play. There was something almost cosmic about it, when I think of it in its entirety and the people who I met and just how profound that experience was. So, yeah, I was happy with my decision.”

Jodie has an exciting new movie hitting theaters in summer 2024.