3
Credit: LucasfilmStar Wars prequels icon Natalie Portman has confirmed she would be open to returning to a galaxy, far, far away in a new interview with GQ.
For GQ’s ‘Actually Me’ series, where stars create social profiles and reply to fans’ questions online, Portman sat down and replied to some Star Wars questions.
She starred in all three of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, from 1999’s Star Wars Episode I — The Phantom Menace, to Star Wars Episode II — Attack of the Clones (2003) and Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith (2005). As Padmé Amidala, she played a key role in the Skywalker Saga, mounting a public resistance to the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire and becoming mother to Luke and Leia.
Despite Padmé herself appearing in multiple episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, it was voice actress Catherine Taber who took on her part. Portman herself hasn’t appeared in the Star Wars galaxy since 2005’s epic conclusion to the trilogy.
In the GQ piece, she responds to a fan on the r/StarWars Reddit, u/Samilya, who asked:
“Any chance that Padme / Natalie Portman returns to Star Wars? Her character really deserves it with the way she was treated in Revenge of the Sith & overall importance for the OT story.”
The question references the general conversation around Padmé’s appearance in the prequel trilogy capper: her role is much reduced in comparison to those in Episodes I and II, with much of her part centering around her doomed romance with Anakin and her prospective death forming a key part of Anakin’s motivation for turning to the Dark Side.
Answering the fan, Portman — under the guise of u/ActuallyNPortman — writes:
“I have no information on this.
No one’s ever asked me to return, but I’m open to it.”
At least on Portman’s side, it’s a possibility. The last time she made a significant nod to the prequels, it was in a much different setting, incorporating a humorous segment in her iconic Naboo Queen outfit as part of ‘Natalie’s Rap 2′ on Saturday Night Live in 2018, addressing the negative response to the prequel movies themselves.
The return of Padmé to live-action would be a welcome surprise and not entirely out of the question for where Star Wars live-action is at. Only last year did Hayden Christensen return to the part of Anakin for Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney+.
Would you be excited to see Natalie Portman return to Star Wars? Tell us in the comments below.