It appears Netflix won’t have to toss a coin to Jodie Turner-Smith. Turner-Smith has left the upcoming The Witcher spin-off series The Witcher: Blood Origin due to scheduling conflicts she has with the filming dates. The actress was set to play Éile, one of the lead roles in the prequel six-part mini-series that is set 1,200 years before the events of The Witcher.
There’s no word on what the project is that sidelined Turner-Smith, but the shooting for The Witcher: Blood Origin was delayed slightly and it caused her to need to remove herself from the role she’d been attached to since at least January. The only film that the actress is set to film right now is Borderland, an action thriller that doesn’t look like the kind of thing that would be something you’d give up starring in a hotly anticipated Netflix TV show for. It’s possible she’s contractually locked into whatever she’s agreed to film instead of Blood Origin, but given the popularity of the franchise, it’s an odd choice to leave it.
The role of Éile will now have to be recast as the show heads towards filming. The character is a warrior who turns her back on her clan and begins wandering the world as a musician. However, she’s forced to return to her clan’s ways as the “conjunction of the spheres” begins and the world begins a grand reckoning.
This isn’t the only Witcher content set to hit Netflix as the streamer expands the show’s universe. The second season of the show is in post-production already, and an animated series is coming as well that focuses on Vesemir, Geralt’s mentor.
The Witcher: Blood Origin does not have a release date yet.
