'Thor: Love and Thunder' director asked Natalie Portman if she wanted to be in his 'Star Wars' movie, forgetting that she starred in the prequel trilogy

• The "Thor: Love and Thunder" director Taika Waititi forgot Natalie Portman starred in "Star Wars."

• Waititi told Rolling Stone he asked Portman whether she wanted to be in his "Star Wars" movie.

• He said she reminded him that she played an important role in the prequel trilogy as Padmé Amidala.

The "Thor: Love and Thunder" director Taika Waititi was so enthusiastic about the chance of working with Natalie Portman that he momentarily forgot her lengthy résumé.

"Natalie said to me, what do you do next? And I said 'I'm trying to work on a 'Star Wars' thing," Waititi told Rolling Stone, recalling how he pitched Portman on returning to the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the "Thor" sequel. "'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," Waititi added, laughing.

Waititi was referencing the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy in which Portman had a very important role not only as Queen Padmé Amidala but also as Anakin Skywalker's secret wife and the eventual mother to Luke and Leia Skywalker.

You could argue that there would be no Skywalker saga without Padmé.

Not much is known about Waititi's "Star Wars" project, which was announced in 2020.

Lucasfilm's president, Kathleen Kennedy, described Waititi's film as "fresh, unexpected, and unique." According to Vanity Fair, Waititi's film will likely be the next "Star Wars" movie we see in theaters.

In "Love and Thunder," Portman reprises her role as Jane Foster, an astrophysicist who this time around gets to wield the mighty hammer of Thor.

Waititi told Rolling Stone that he pitched the idea of bringing Foster's character back into the fold.

"Basically, I was like, a lot of fans miss Jane Foster, and people want to see her again," Waititi said.

According to Waititi, Marvel Studios' president, Kevin Feige, was more than receptive to that idea, saying he wanted to figure out a way to bring Mighty Thor into the film with Portman in the role.

"It didn't take much convincing," Waititi said, adding: "She had never heard of that run of the comic, so I just dropped off some comics for her. ... Anytime you ask, how did we cast so-and-so? We offered them millions of dollars and they said, 'Yes!'"

"Thor: Love and Thunder" is in theaters Friday. You can read our review here.

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