With an Oscar under his belt, a blockbuster in Thor: Ragnarok and another likely on its way with Thor: Love and Thunder, pretty much everybody wants to work with writer-director Taika Waititi.
So when it came to writing his anticipated Star Wars project, he figured he’d swing for the fences: He tells Rolling Stone he asked his fellow Academy Award winner and Thor sequel lead Natalie Portman if she wanted in.
“I said, ‘I’m trying to work on a Star Wars thing. Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie?'” Watititi recalled.
You might have noticed a problem with that, but Waititi apparently didn’t.
“She said, ‘I’ve been in Star Wars movies.’ I forgot about those ones,” Waititi admitted.
“Those ones” to which Waititi was referring — possibly sarcastically — are the Star Wars prequels, 1999’s Episode I – The Phantom Menace, 2002’s Attack of the Clones and 2005’s Revenge of the Sith. Portman played Padmé Amidala — the eventual wife of Anakin Skywalker, and mom to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.
Not exactly a bit part.
By and large, the films were met with a lukewarm critical reception at the time, but have since warmed in the hearts of Star Wars fans.
Lest the filmmaker’s faux pas be too concerning to fans of that galaxy far, far, away, he also told the magazine of the forthcoming project, “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. So I’m gonna do my best to come up with an idea that everyone loves.”
Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters Friday from Marvel Studios, which is owned by Disney, the parent company of ABC News.
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