Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Ahsoka
Summary
- Natalie Portman's return to the Star Wars galaxy could involve her playing Abeloth, a major villain from Legends.
- Abeloth is a Force being of pure chaos and entropy with the ability to take on multiple forms and faces while also being connected to the Mortis gods.
- This theory presents a dark and chilling twist, exploring the potential interactions between Abeloth with Anakin's Force ghost, Ahsoka, and the Skywalker twins if the Force being indeed takes Padmé's face.
A truly dark and chilling Star Wars theory suggests how Natalie Portman could return to the galaxy far, far away. In recent years, major prequel trilogy actors such as Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor have both come back to reprise their roles as Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi respectively. While it would be a unique challenge for Lucasfilm to bring back Portman's Padmé Amidala in a future Star Wars project, one theory carries some very dark potential.
From 1999-2005, Natalie Portman played Padmé Amidala, the young Queen of Naboo who eventually became the planet's senatorial representative in the Galactic Republic. She also secretly married Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, the prophesied Chosen One who was corrupted and became Darth Vader, an act that saw the new Sith Lord inadvertently killing his wife as seen in Revenge of the Sith. However, there is one way a darker version of Padmé could perhaps be brought back as a new Star Wars villain.
Lucasfilm Brought Back Ewan McGregor & Hayden Christensen... Why Not Natalie Portman?
As has been seen in more recent Star Wars projects, both Christensen's Anakin Skywalker and McGregor's Obi-Wan Kenobi have made new appearances in the Star Wars galaxy. Obi-Wan Kenobi received his own series set 10 years after Revenge of the Sith, featuring a critical mission in which Kenobi left Tatooine to save young Princess Leia while also reconciling with the existence of Darth Vader, the Sith Lord whom Skywalker became. Having long believed he'd killed Anakin while blaming himself for Skywalker's fall, Kenobi faced Vader twice during the events of Obi-Wan Kenobi with Vader himself claiming responsibility for "killing Anakin Skywalker", refusing to be seen as Kenobi's failure.
While both Christensen and Obi-Wan reprised their prequel trilogy roles in Obi-Wan Kenobi, Christensen also had a significant role in Ahsoka starring Rosario Dawson as Anakin's titular apprentice. Not only did Anakin's spirit commune with Ahsoka during a critical Force vision which helped Ahsoka realign with her Jedi path, but Skywalker was also featured in holo-recordings Skywalker had made for Ahsoka during the Clone Wars, as well as his Force ghost appearing at the very end of the series set during the New Republic era.
Because both McGregor and Christensen have played such key roles in recent Star Wars projects, it would certainly be exciting if Natalie Portman also returned to the galaxy. However, this is a little more complex considering the fact that Padmé's journey is very much contained within the events of the prequels themselves, and much of her adventures have already been told within the Clone Wars animated series. Nevertheless, it's been suggested that Padmé could still return, albeit in a very horrifying way.
How Star Wars Could Bring Back Natalie Portman As A Villain
As seen online (such as a post from Twitter user @blurayangel), it's been suggested that a Natalie Portman's return could involve Abeloth, a major Star Wars villain from Legends whom Ahsoka potentially set up to return to the established canon. At the end of Ahsoka, the Dark Jedi mercenary Baylan Skoll discovered the massive statues of the celestial Force gods of Mortis on the extragalactic world of Peridea, connecting the two worlds which could very well be one and the same. However, Peridea could also be the world where the Force gods lived before Mortis in Legends.
In Legends, the Father, Son, and Daughter originally lived with the Mother, an unnamed mortal woman who'd become part of their family. However, the fear of aging and dying apart from her immortal loved ones saw her corrupting herself with forbidden power. This turned the Mother into Abeloth, a Force being of pure chaos and entropy. Seeing as how all three Mortis gods died in the Clone Wars, the power calling out to Baylan even the Nightsisters seemed to fear could very well be Abeloth herself.
Having been imprisoned by the Mortis gods, it's possible that Abeloth's prison was weakened following their deaths just as it was in Legends. Now, Abeloth could perhaps be canonically freed by Baylan Skoll in the near future. To that end, it's been suggested that Abeloth could be played by Portman considering Abeloth's ability to take multiple forms, not unlike the Son in The Clone Wars when he appeared as Anakin's mother. While the odds are admittedly unlikely, it would certainly be a dark and disturbing means of bringing Portman back with the dark Force entity using Padmé's face to manipulate and corrupt.
Natalie Portman's Abeloth Return Would Be The Darkest Twist Imaginable
Regardless of how likely it is or not, there is some truly dark potential behind the idea of Abeloth taking the form of Padmé if she were freed to plague the New Republic era just as she did in Legends. One can only imagine the kind of interactions Abeloth could perhaps have with Anakin's Force ghost as well as Ahsoka herself. Likewise, both Luke and Leia never got to know their mother as Padmé died shortly after giving birth to the Skywalker twins. Luke Skywalker in particular would undoubtedly struggle to reconcile his mother's face (which he'd never seen before) as the new face of a major galactic threat.
Ultimately, it's currently unknown what's lying in wait for Baylan Skoll on the extragalactic world of Perdia, though Abeloth is certainly the strongest theory. With Skoll wanting to end the cycle of conflict between the light and the dark that has plagued the Star Wars galaxy for eons, it wouldn't be hard for Abeloth to sway Baylan into her service, having her own agenda to bring about a total galactic apocalypse, allowing her to then create a new galaxy in its place (one where she is adored and loved).
In truth, the reality of Natalie Portman one day playing a canonical version of Abeloth using Padme's face feels rather slim. That being said, the conjecture is quite fun all the same, and it's very entertaining to speculate with theories such as this one. The ability to imagine and wonder about all the potential avenues that could occur is a testament to the success of Ahsoka and all the new narrative doors it's opened for Lucasfilm and the future of Star Wars.
Source: Twitter