Taika Waititi Forgot Natalie Portman Was In Star Wars And Asked If She Wanted To Be In His Star Wars Film

New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi recently revealed that he asked Natalie Portman if she had ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie.

Waititi was so impressed by Portman’s performance while on the set for Thor: Love and Thunder that he thought it would be a great idea to get Portman involved in his next project.

However, the Flight of the Conchords director seemingly blanked on the fact that Portman played a vital role as Padme Amidala - you know, the character whose imminent death triggered Anakin Skywalker’s descent into Darth Vader.

Star Wars: The Revenge Of The Sith

Portman also played a pivotal role as Jane Foster in Thor: Love and Thunder as the character transitions into the superhero, Mighty Thor.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Waititi discussed how he managed to get Portman involved again in the Thor movie series and his attempts at propositioning a role in Star Wars. 

He said: “Basically I was like, a lot of fans miss Jane Foster, and people want to see her again.

"It just seemed like the perfect opportunity, because the character was so great in the Jason Aaron run of Thor. 

“Kevin [Feige] was already like, ‘I’d love to try and figure out a way to bring Mighty Thor into this film and bring Natalie back.’

"It didn’t take much convincing. She had never heard of that run of the comic, so I just dropped off some comics for her."

Doug Peters / Alamy

As for the real reason Portman accepted a return to the Marvel film, Waititi joked: “Anytime you ask, how did we cast so-and-so? We offered them millions of dollars and they said yes!”

The 46-year-old then let slip on his Padme Amidala blunder.

He continued: “Natalie said to me, ‘what do you do next?’ And I said 'I'm trying to work on a Star Wars thing. Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie?' She said, 'I've been in Star Wars movies,' I forgot about those ones."

Unlike Waititi, Portman certainly won’t forget about Star Wars episodes one through three; the films that helped her gain international recognition. 

As for Waititi’s Star Wars project, it’s unclear exactly what the film will be about however, he says he wants it to be separated from the main Skywalker films. 

Perhaps we’ll get the highly anticipated Jar Jar Binks origin story.

Topics: TV and Film, Star Wars, Thor: Love and Thunder, Celebrity

Jayden Collins

Jayden Collins is a Journalist at LADbible. He has worked across multiple media platforms in areas such as sport, music, pop culture, entertainment and politics. He is part of the editorial team for LADbible Australia.