Natalie Portman Defends The 'Star Wars' Prequels Saying They Are Beloved Now
Time can be a healer, but it can also change one’s perception of the past.
Over the last four and a half decades there have been several actors, who were very critical about their participation in the Star Wars saga. Harrison Ford, who has said countless times after the release of Return of the Jedi, that he has absolutely no interest in ever taking on the role of Han Solo again (until he did in The Force Awakens) is probably the most prominent one.
And also, Natalie Portman has been quite vocal about her role as Padma Amidala in the Prequel Trilogy, calling it something that had nearly ruined her whole career, just a few years ago.
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Like her co-stars Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, the Oscar winner suffered not only from a lack of direction from George Lucas (who was never especially good at giving his actors guidance), from acting against blue or green-screen most of the time, but ultimately also from the backlash that the Prequels had to face when they were released.
Portman is currently promoting her newest film Thor: Love and Thunder, where she will not only take on the role of Jane Foster, Thor’s (former) girlfriend for the third time, but will also transform into the character of the Mighty Thor, wielding the Mjölnir, the hammer of the Nordic God.
And just as the fans started to embrace the Prequel Trilogy over the years, so did McGregor, Christensen, and, now also Portman:
“I mean, I had it with ‘The Professional’ too. It was slaughtered critically, and now, despite having been in Marvel and ‘Star Wars’ movies, it’s the main thing people come up to me about. That and ‘Star Wars’ are two examples of things that when they came out, I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is a disaster.’ And then 20 years later — actually, 30 years later for ‘The Professional’ — it’s beloved.”
The Professional, Portman’s first feature film (1994), and then the Star Wars trilogy a few years later, weren’t the only films that had to deal with a lot of criticism: Thor: The Dark World, was (and to some extent still is) labeled as one of the worst entries of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, causing Portman to step away from the role of Jane Foster. She only changed her mind after director Taika Waititi promised to substantially expand upon her character in the fourth Tor movie.
When even someone like Harrison Ford can change his mind and make his peace with one of his most beloved roles, why shouldn’t Natalie Portman as well?
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Source: IndieWire