Natalie Portman Wants Padmé Amidala to Return — As a Jedi

Natalie Portman says she’d love to return to the Star Wars galaxy — but this time, with a lightsaber in hand.

Appearing on The One Show on May 6 to promote her upcoming film Fountain of Youth, the Oscar-winning actor was asked about the legacy of Padmé Amidala, the iconic character she first played at just 16 in The Phantom Menace. With Revenge of the Sith celebrating its 20th anniversary and returning to cinemas, talk naturally turned to a potential comeback.

“If there was a way for [Padmé] to come back, what way would you like her to come back?” host Clara Amfo asked.

Portman didn’t hesitate: “With a lightsaber. I think she'd have to be a Jedi. If somehow she were brought back from the dead. That would be exciting.”

Though Padmé famously died at the end of Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars has never shied away from resurrections, Force visions, or alternate timelines — meaning the door may not be completely closed.

Fans have long speculated about what Padmé’s story could have been had she survived. Some expanded universe materials and fan fiction have imagined her as a Force-sensitive warrior, and Portman’s latest comments could reignite interest in exploring such a story on screen.

With Lucasfilm actively developing multiple new Star Wars projects across film and television, perhaps there’s still hope for a Jedi Padmé. After all, stranger things have happened in a galaxy far, far away.