There are few movie franchises with the cultural impact of the Star Wars movies. Generations grew up with the galaxy far, far away, both on the big screen and streaming with a Disney+ subscription. Actress Natalie Portman famously played Padmé in the prequel trilogy, and recalled a big lesson she learned when The Phantom Menace got panned by critics.
The pressure was on for Star Wars‘ prequel trilogy when it hit theaters, given it was the franchise’s first time back on the big screen since George Lucas’ originals. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Oscar-winning actress spoke about why she was “lucky” for the The Phantom Menace‘s poor reviews. In her words:
I had lucky early experiences of failure. I know I’ve been also very lucky to have a lot of successes that have balanced it out. But I mean, for example, my first film, The Professional, got horrible reviews and had no box office. And then I made Star Wars. I was 16, and that got murdered. It was a huge success financially, but all of it was ‘They ruined the franchise. None of them can act. They all suck.’
Portman grew up in front of our eyes, and was introduced to professional challenges as a young person. As she pointed out, both The Professional and Star Wars: The Phantom Menace got ripped apart upon their release, even though the latter made a ton of money at the box office. Indeed, it took years for fans to start appreciating Episode I. One can only imagine how challenging this must have been at the time, especially when the cast’s acting talents were put into question.
Later in the same interview, the Black Swan actress shared why this experience was actually helpful to her as she continued to work. As she put it:
I think it was an amazing early lesson in how to read really bad things about yourself and then be able to be like, ‘I’m going to make another one. I’m going to show them.’ I don’t remember talking to anyone about it. I didn’t want to show anyone that I was hurt or anything.
Honestly, I see her point. Rather than letting poor reviews defeat her or diminish her career, Natalie Portman just kept working. She refused to show that the critics upsetting her, and instead kept racking up major movie roles. Indeed, the Jackie actress has remained an A-lister in the years since starring as Padmé Amidala.
Portman would reprise her role in both of The Phantom Menace‘s sequels, titled Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. She’s been away from the franchise since 2005, but there are plenty of fans who have been hoping to see her reprise her role on the silver or small screens. Only time will tell if that ever happens.
Star Wars will return to the big screen when Starfighter hits theaters on May 28th, 2027. Since it’s not part of the 2026 movie release list, fans will have to re-watch the previous movies on Disney+.
