Natalie Portman Says She's Open To A Potential Return To 'Star Wars'

Would acclaimed, award-winning actress Natalie Portman ever return to the "Star Wars" franchise? The answer might surprise some.

During a recent "Actually Me" video from GQ, the Oscar winner perused a "Star Wars" Reddit thread that 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' and overall importance to the Original Trilogy story?"

Well, Portman provided a direct answer, revealing, "I have no information on this. No one's ever asked me to return, but I'm open to it."

https://youtu.be/Gk0mlv6rx-M

Portman previously portrayed Padme Amidala, the former Queen and later Senator of the planet Naboo, in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy, starting with "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" in 1999. She later reprised her role in "Star Wars: Episode II - The Clone Wars" in 2002 and "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith" in 2005.

Padme eventually fell in love with Anakin Skywalker, the eventual Darth Vader, and gave birth to their twin children, Luke and Leia, at the end of the prequel trilogy. Unfortunately, Padme died after giving birth, having lost the will to live, and having witnessed her husband turn to the Dark Side.

Portman is no stranger to taking a hiatus from and later making a long-awaited return to beloved film franchises. In last year's "Thor: Love & Thunder," she reprised her role as Jane Foster after previously disappearing from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) following "Thor: The Dark World" in 2013.

The MCU wrote Jane out of the story by saying she and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) had broken up offscreen, but the two were reunited in "Love & Thunder," with Jane even gaining the powers of the God of Thunder by using Thor's old hammer, Mjolnir. It was Portman's first official onscreen appearance for the MCU in nine years.

Lucasfilm has not indicated any projects in the works for Portman to reprise her role, but multiple actors from across the franchise and saga have reprised their roles in "Star Wars" film and television spinoffs. In last year's "Obi-Wan Kenobi" miniseries, both Prequel Trilogy stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen reprised their respective roles of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader.

The series even featured flashbacks to the two in their younger days when they were still Master and Padawan. So, there are ways that Portman could appear once again as Padme Amidala if Lucasfilm had some ideas in mind. The "Kenobi" miniseries even brought back Joel Edgerton and Bonnie Piesse from the prequels to once again portray Luke's Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru Lars, along with Jimmy Smits' character of Senator Bail Organa.

Coincidentally, Portman's "Thor: Love & Thunder" director Taika Waititi is currently attached to direct and co-write a new live-action, theatrical "Star Wars" feature that's currently in the works. The film does not yet have a release date.

In 2011, Portman won her first and only Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "Black Swan." She was previously nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2005 for her role in "Closer." In 2017, she was nominated once again for Best Actress for her portrayal of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the 2016 film, "Jackie."

Also, Portman revealed in the GQ video that she kept one of Christensen's Anakin Padawan braids from the production. However, she later lost it. While it's been 18 years since her last foray into the "Star Wars" universe, it's nice to see that Portman would be open to a return. Whether or not that will happen remains to be seen.

Until such time, fans can still check out Portman's performances as Padme in the Prequel Trilogy and Jane Foster in the MCU, which are all streaming now on Disney+.