Taika Asks Natalie Portman About Wanting To Be In Star Wars, Forgetting She Was In Them

In a recent interview, Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi openly shared an embarrassing exchange he had with Natalie Portman in gearing up to work on the film. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Waititi discussed a moment when he early on asked Portman whether she had any interest in joining the Star Wars franchise as he works on his own “expansive” entry.

“Natalie said to me, ‘What do you do next?'” Waititi said. “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.”

Not much is known about Waititi’s Star Wars project–which now may or may not feature the return of Padmé Amidala from the divisive prequels. It’s expected that the film will likely feature Waititi’s signature quirky humorous style, though it won’t be in theaters until sometime in 2023. Though, as Lucasfilm has made clear, even that release date is subject to change.

For what it’s worth, back in May, actor Ewan McGregor took time during the press tour to defend the much-maligned Star Wars prequels written and directed by George Lucas–explaining that 15 years later, the next generation coming up “love” them.

Thor: Love and Thunder hit theaters on July 8, and has so far garnered so-so reviews. In GameSpot’s review of the film, Mason Downey writes that “Love and Thunder feel[s] less like a movie and more like a scrapbook of random ideas, cut up in between some neat looking music videos.”