Jodie Comer was “happy with her decision” to drop out of Napoleon in order to star in the one-woman play Prima Facie.

The Killing Eve actress was attached to star as Empress Joséphine alongside Joaquin Phoenix as Napoleon Bonaparte in Ridley Scott’s historical epic.

However, she had to drop out in early 2022 due to scheduling conflicts with Prima Facie and was subsequently replaced by Vanessa Kirby.

Reflecting on her decision to exit the project, Comer told The Hollywood Reporter, “That was a choice I had to make and I didn’t look back in a sense. 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. So I was happy with my decision.”

Comer received rave reviews for her performance in the play and won a Laurence Olivier award and a Tony for her stints on London’s West End and Broadway.

The 30-year-old, who previously worked with Scott on 2021’s The Last Duel, explained to the Evening Standard last year that she was “always committed” to Prima Facie and the shooting schedule for Napoleon kept changing.

“That decision was actually taken out of my hands,” she shared. “So it came to a point where it was impossible to do both.”

She added that dropping out of the film worked in her favour because it gave her more time to prepare and research for the play.

Napoleon was released in cinemas last month.

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