Cinema has been littered with a long, long history of actors forgetting they appeared in certain movies. Gwyneth Paltrow famously forgot she was in Spider-Man: Homecoming, Anna Kendrick forgot she was in Twilight, and now Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi has made a franchise faux pas with his Mighty Thor actor Natalie Portman.
"Natalie said to me, what do you do next?" Waititi recalled in an interview with Rolling Stone. "And I said ‘I’m trying to work on a Star Wars thing. Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie?’”
The reply was understandably predictable: "She said, ‘I’ve been in Star Wars movies.’ I forgot about those ones," Waititi said, referring to Portman’s turn as Padme Amidala in the three Star Wars prequels.
Waititi may well have been putting out feelers for Portman to appear in his new Star Wars movie – tentatively scheduled for 2023 – but it’s clear she won’t be pulling double duty in a galaxy far, far away.
The director also poured cold water on the idea that his movie is definitely happening. "If it’s not right, it’s not right. If it’s not ready, it’s not ready," Waititi said. "[With] Star Wars, I don’t want to rush. It’s something I wouldn’t want to just leap into and not feel that it’s unique, it’s my film, and it makes sense. Because that would be a disaster."
Despite Star Wars’ cinematic future being uncertain, there are several projects still in the works. Take a look at them all with our guide to upcoming Star Wars movies. Spoilers: Natalie Portman isn’t in any of them, but at least Obi-Wan Kenobi finally did Padme justice.
