Video: Natalie Portman Raps Again on 'SNL'

By: Dominic Jones

Natalie Portman, who starred as Padme Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live for the second time tonight.  During Portman's first appearance back in 2006 one of the sketches she did was a foul mouthed rap about "her life" alongside then cast members Andy Samberg, Seth Myers, and Chris Parnell.  Tonight, she performed a sequel rap where she was joined once again by Samberg, as well as current cast members Beck Bennet, Alex Moffat, and Keenan Thompson.  

Towards the end of the rap, Bennet asks Portman if she has seen the new Star Wars movies and is about to make a dig at the prequels before Portman cuts him off.  We then see Portman, dressed as Queen Amidala, threatening Moffat with a gun and demanding that nice things be said about the prequels and making a shocking reveal about the anatomy of Jar Jar Binks.

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On This Day: June 9, 1981

By Ciaran Duggan,

Natalie Portman, who played Padme Amidala in the Prequel Trilogy, was born on this day back in 1981.

The Hollywood actress made appearances in all three installment of the Prequel Trilogy, as she rose from Queen of Naboo in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace to becoming senator of her home planet in the subsequent two movies.

The 36-year-old was deemed to look very much alike to Kiera Knightley by the producers of Episode I, which was one of the reasons she got the role of Sabe, Queen Amidala's handmaiden and decoy. 

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Natalie Portman Reveals She Visited the 'Rogue One' and 'Episode VIII' Sets

By: Dominic Jones

Though she has distanced herself from the saga in the past few years, Natalie Portman is still willing to talk a little Star Wars.  The actress who played Padme Amidala in the Prequel Trilogy spoke with The LA Times recently about her upcoming directorial debut, A Tale of Love and Darkness, and the topic of Star Wars came up.  Portman revealed that she recently spent some time at Pinewood Studios in London filming another upcoming project, Annihilation, right next to where the new Star Wars films are being shot.  She revealed that she visited the sets of two upcoming Star Wars films, Rogue One and Episode VIII.

Via The LA Times,

She had just returned from London, where she was filming “Annihilation” at Pinewood Studios, on stages adjacent to where the next two “Star Wars” movies were in production. Portman, who many moviegoers first encountered as Padmé Amidala in the “Star Wars” prequels, said she enjoyed visiting the sets of “Rogue One” and “Episode VIII.”

“It’s fun to see that [‘Star Wars’] lives on, and now having a little boy, I see how deeply it lives in kids’ culture,” she said, noting that [her five year old son] Aleph has not seen any of the films but is familiar with the characters because of Star Wars Lego games. “He’s very Yoda-centric.”

Would it be too much to hope that she filmed a cameo appearance for one or both films?  Probably.  Both are set well after Padme's death in Revenge of the Sith, though anything is possible.  We know Rogue One will utilise flashbacks, and perhaps Luke and Leia could come across a hologram of their mother in Episode VIII (buried away in R2-D2 with the map to Luke).  Again, neither of these scenarios is at all likely. Regardless, it's cool to see Star Wars alums visiting the sets of the new films (George Lucas also visited the set of Rogue One).

Source: LA Times

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Natalie Portman Talks Episode VII

By: Benjamin Hart

Padmé Amidala herself, Natalie Portman, recently spoke with MoviePilot about Thor: The Dark World. And naturally the interviewer asked her about the upcoming Star Wars films:

"I am so excited about them. I think J.J. Abrams is such a talent and I can’t wait to see what he does. I am only sorry that my character died, which means I can’t be in them. I saw him somewhere and I said, 'How did this happen? I can’t believe I’m not going to be in the new movie.'"

Even though Natalie/Padmé showing up in Episode VII may seem like wishful thinking, it's actually not that far fetched of an idea. Think about; in Return Of The Jedi Leia admits that she only remembers images of her mother, and Luke had no memory at all. It would only make sense that they both would seek to learn more about her in Episode VII, which could call for Natalie to appear as Padmé in a vision, flashback or hologram. And better yet, what about Luke and Leia's children? Would they not want to know more about their Grandmother? Or if one of the spin-off films were to be set prior to Revenge Of The Sith, a Padmé cameo could be in order.

All speculation aside, it sounds like Natalie would not hesitate to return to Star Wars if she's asked, which is very good news.

Via: Star Wars: The Prequel Trilogy

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Natalie Portman Open to Returning to Star Wars

By: Dominic Jones

While she most likely won't be appearing in Episode VII, Natalie Portman (Padme Amidala in the prequel trilogy) did express an interest in returning to the galaxy far, far away at some point.  During an interview with Static Multimedia promoting her upcoming film Thor: The Dark World, she was asked about the possibility of her returning to her role in Star Wars.  Here's what she had to say:

Will you be part of the next Star Wars project?

No. I died.

But you never know. As a ghost…

I know. That’s true. No one has asked me about those either, but I am really excited about them. But I would be open to it. (laughs)

While it seems unlikely that Padme will appear in Episode VII (even as a ghost), her character would be perfect for a spin-off film....

Source: Static Multimedia

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