Natalie Portman Is Game For A Star Wars Return, But No One Has Asked Her
As Luke Skywalker stated so accurately in "The Last Jedi," "No one's ever really gone." Franchises these days have been working overtime to keep fans and general audiences hooked from one installment to the next, pulling out all the stops to make sure that the surrounding buzz is only matched by the box office profits. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has turned resurrections and surprise returns into a cottage industry, living up to the comic book creed that characters are never truly dead unless you see the body — and even then, that's no guarantee either. Meanwhile, the "Fast & Furious" films had already brought back Michelle Rodriguez's Letty and Sung Kang's Han from certain death before the latest movie, "Fast X," ended with the inexplicable return of yet another long-dead hero.
But none of these examples can quite compare to the precedent set by "Star Wars" over the years. There's Darth Maul, the spiky-headed villain introduced and killed off in "The Phantom Menace" who nevertheless came back in cyborg form in the animated series "The Clone Wars" and even appeared in live-action once again in "Solo: A Star Wars Story." Of course, none could forget the evil Emperor's reincarnation as a clone (I think?) and the Oscar Isaac reaction that launched a million, "Somehow, Palpatine returned" memes.
Yet, through it all, despite an entire sequel trilogy and a number of spin-offs, one significant character has yet to make her grand return: Natalie Portman's Padmé Amidala. As it turns out, that's not through a lack of willingness on the actor's part. In fact, she'd be all too happy to reprise her famous sci-fi/fantasy role ... if only somebody would actually ask her.
Lucasfilm, you're breaking our hearts!
If you'll allow me to get on my soapbox for a second, it's kind of baffling that we've never once seen Padmé return to "Star Wars" in live-action since her death in childbirth at the end of "Revenge of the Sith." In the saga-ending "The Rise of Skywalker," director J.J. Abrams saw fit to bring back Liam Neeson's Qui-Gon Jinn, Ewan McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi, and even Hayden Christensen's Anakin Skywalker in voice roles during the climax of the movie, not to mention Harrison Ford himself as the ghostly vision of Han Solo. But despite Kylo Ren's (Adam Driver) obsession with his familial history, never once does Padmé's name even come up throughout the entire trilogy. Weird!
We're not the only ones who noticed that glaring omission, as it turns out. In a video appearance with GQ Magazine (via Variety), Natalie Portman addressed a question about finally making her grand return to that galaxy far, far away in some fashion. Interestingly enough, though she makes it clear that she hasn't been approached for another appearance, she doesn't rule anything out, either. According to Portman:
"I have no information on this. No one's ever asked me to return, but I'm open to it."
Fans know that "The Clone Wars" series at least included Padmé as a supporting character throughout all seven seasons, albeit voiced by actor Catherine Taber. But 2005 marked the last time anyone's seen Portman as the fearless senator, secret wife to Anakin, and mother of Luke and Leia Skywalker. Contrast that with McGregor and Christensen reprising their Jedi roles in the "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series and it's more than a little eyebrow-raising. It's hard to imagine any future movie or show making use of Portman's talents again ... but never say never!