Star Wars has so many characters that fans love and want to return to. That’s why shows like Disney+’s Obi-Wan Kenobi meant so much to fans, because we finally got to see Ewan McGregor as the famed Jedi once more. But with a large catalog of characters to pull from, it means that there are often characters we leave behind when we move on from their story, and so far, one of those characters (in live-action) has been Padmé.
Played by Natalie Portman in the prequel franchise, Padmé had a story in the live-action Star Wars world that ended in Revenge of the Sith when she died in childbirth, bringing Luke and Leia into the world. We got to see how her death still affected both Obi-Wan and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but because of her death, we didn’t get to see her again.
We did get to see more of her stories in animated shows like The Clone Wars, but it’s just not the same. Many fans, myself included, want more of Padmé’s story because she is a character who is important to the franchise as a whole, and yet, the prequels were not really her story. Spending time with her and seeing how the rise of the Empire happened through a senate point of view would be exciting. What’s even more exciting is that Natalie Portman doesn’t even seem to hate the idea of returning to the franchise.
When asked, she didn’t say no, and that’s what is important. During a video for GQ , Portman talked about the possibility of Padmé making a return: “I have no information on this. No one has ever asked me to return, but I’m open to it.”
Padmé deserves it
For the amount of male characters that get their exploration, there are two female characters who really deserve more time in the world of Star Wars, and it’s Padmé and Leia. That’s why shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi mean a lot to me, because we got to see Leia (played beautifully by Vivien Lyra Blair). It’d been so long since we saw Leia have a moment that it just was so perfect.
Characters like Padmé deserve that time, too. Sure, there are women who have been at the forefront of Star Wars stories, and we have the show Ahsoka coming up (which I’m very excited about), but that doesn’t mean characters like Padmé getting sort of left behind is okay. Would I watch an entire show about Padmé’s work as a senator? Yes. In fact, I’d watch her just as a ghost, watching Anakin as Darth Vader and being furious with him.
Point is: I’d watch anything about Padmé with Natalie Portman because I think she deserves more love in Star Wars as a whole, and it is about time that she has her own story. So come on, Lucasfilm. Natalie Portman is waiting.
(featured image: 20th Century Studios)
