Awkward moments happen to the best of us, and for Taika Waititi, the Star Wars community will not let him live a major faux pas down anytime soon. In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Thor: Love and Thunder director asked Natalie Portman if she has ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie…forgetting that she was already in three of them.
“Natalie said to me, ‘What do you do next?’” he explained. “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.” Cue embarrassed laughter.
With all due respect, Mr Waititi, Padmé remains an icon because she survived the Clone Wars and the invasion of Naboo, even if she eventually died from a broken heart. The character was played by Portman in the prequel trilogy, which consists of The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith.
Of course, with his well-known cheekiness and impish frivolity, it’s likely that the filmmaker was just goofing around. After all, this is also the guy who told Rolling Stone to retract his statement about his upcoming Star Wars project being disconnected from the Skywalker Saga, as he was charmed by the idea of featuring “Chewbacca’s grandmother”. The chaotic energy is real here, folks.
Not much details have been revealed about the film since its announcement two years ago, except that it’ll take tell a new story that won’t build on pre-existing narratives, lore, or canon. Originally slated for a late 2023 release, its development status is now unknown, as Waititi himself still doesn’t know if the Star Wars movie is actually going to be a thing.
“I’m trying to write the Star Wars idea at the moment,” he said. “I’ve got to see how that goes, because once I submit it, that might determine when it gets made or if it gets made, even.” What has been made, though, is Thor: Love and Thunder, which will bring the titular God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), Portman’s Mighty Thor (aka Jane Foster), and King Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) to the silver screen starting today, 7 July.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
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