Last Kingdom has had a turbulent journey for the past few years, with the TV series starting its life on BBC Two for the first two seasons before being picked up by streaming service giant Netflix for its third, fourth, and fifth seasons. Although fans were disappointed that the Netflix series was cancelled, there was some solace in the knowledge that the Last Kingdom would be returning one more time for a movie — but in an interview with The Digital Fix, Sonya Cassidy revealed that she wouldn’t be returning.
“It’s with a heavy heart that I say no, because of a scheduling conflict,” she explained. “I had a blast on The Last Kingdom. I was a big fan of the show anyway, so it was really fun to kind of join those guys in beautiful Budapest. And I really liked that character, I really enjoyed playing Eadgifu, but my time playing her was for season five.”
She added, “Alas, someone else will be picking up that baton. So I’m glad that at least her story will continue. In another world, I’d have happily done it. But unfortunately, I couldn’t.”
Cassidy debuted as Eadigfu, the third wife of King Edward, in the fifth and final season of the Last Kingdom. From her comments, it appears that the plan is to recast her role for the upcoming Last Kingdom Netflix movie, Seven Kings Must Die, but who exactly will take over the role is unclear.
Based on Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon Stories novels, the Last Kingdom series follows the rise and fall of the Anglo Saxon empire, and the establishment of England across the ninth and tenth century. The protagonist of the series is Uhtred of Bebbanburg (Alexander Dreymon), the son of a Saxon noble kidnapped by a Danish warlord.
Lodge 49 premieres on July 31 on AMC at 9pm on BT TV. Read our full interview with Sonya Cassidy here.