Legacies explored some new directions throughout the first half of Season 4, not the least of which was Hope’s Tribrid twist and the return of an Originals star as part of that storyline. The arguably biggest change to come out of the recent fall finale has nothing to do with Hope, however, as it is 100% guaranteed to pack a lasting punch in the second half of the season. Kaylee Bryant has departed Legacies as Josie, and has already lined up a new project to keep her busy.
Kaylee Bryant was a key part of the Legacies ensemble from the very beginning as Josie Saltzman, daughter of The Vampire Diaries’ Alaric Saltzman and Caroline Forbes, and twin sister of Lizzie. That said, she had been putting some distance between herself and her life as a witch at the Salvatore School after going through some hellish experiences. She ultimately came to the conclusion that she needs to live a life of her own, which meant a one-way bus ticket out of Mystic Falls and Bryant bowing out of the series for a new project. The actress addressed her departure in a post on Instagram, saying:
As a fan of The Vampire Diaries universe myself, I am so grateful to the fans and will love them always and forever for welcoming and accepting me into this world. Josie has helped so many beautiful humans feel comfortable in their sexuality, and I hope her legacy lives on so that one day everyone feels free to love whoever they want regardless of gender.
The actress was such a fan of The Vampire Diaries that she even caught a mistake when Legacies put on a musical version of the original show, and took some inspiration for Dark Josie from The Vampire Diaries’ Katherine. She seemingly didn’t leave the show in Season 4 because of any bad blood or disappointment with the show, so perhaps Josie deciding to leave Mystic Falls doesn’t mean she will be gone forever, and Kaylee Bryant has an exciting future ahead of her.
News broke even ahead of the midseason finale that said goodbye to Josie that Kaylee Bryant had landed an exciting new role. Deadline reported on December 1 that she joined the cast of crime thriller The Locksmith, filming in New Mexico. At the time, no details were available about what kind of character she’s playing for the feature film, but it’s probably safe to say that there will be some big differences between her new character and Josie.
Bryant herself posted the news on her Instagram account with the caption of “Exciting things”, and she joins a cast also comprised of Ryan Phillippe (who was famously killed off his own television show last year), Kate Bosworth, Ving Rhames, Charlie Weber, Jeffrey Nordling, and more. As for whether fans should hold out hope to see Josie turn up at the Salvatore School in the foreseeable future, executive producers Julie Plec and Brett Matthews dropped some interesting comments in their own statement to TVLine about Bryant’s departure:
While it’s heartbreaking to say goodbye to such a beloved Super Squad member, we wish Kaylee happiness and success. We look forward to watching her career grow in the future, and our door at Legacies will always be open to her, because the world is simply a better place with Josie Saltzman in it.
It seems that there are no specific plans for when Bryant could return as Josie, but the door “always” being open to her is a good sign for fans. Plus, she wasn’t killed off or written out in any kind of permanent way, so who knows? Maybe the show can deliver updates on the character without needing the actress on screen. If Legacies could pull it off with Caroline, not to mention Damon and Elena, why not Josie?
Find out how the show addresses her absence when it returns in 2022 with the Legacies midseason premiere on Thursday, January 27 at 9 p.m. ET on The CW following the midseason return of Walker, which also said goodbye to a major character recently. For more of what to watch and when to watch it in the new year, check out our 2022 winter and spring premiere schedule!
