Taika Waititi forgot Natalie Portman was in Star Wars prequels

Taika Waititi made an awkward confession that he asked Star Wars actress Natalie Portman if she’s ever been in the blockbuster franchise.

Taika Waititi had an awkward conversation with Natalie Portman about his upcoming gig directing a Star Wars film.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, the Kiwi filmmaker confessed he forgot the actress starred in the blockbuster franchise.

The Thor: Love and Thunder director said while they were filming the Marvel flick, he asked Portman if she had ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie.

“She said to me, ‘What are you up to next?’ I said ‘Oh, I’m trying to work on a Star Wars thing. Have you ever wanted to be in a Star Wars movie?’ ” Waititi said.

“She said, ‘I’ve been in a Star Wars movie,’ and I went ‘ … should we do another take?’ ”

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Portman starred as Queen Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars franchise.

Taika Waititi forgot the actress was in Star Wars prequels. Picture: Tolga Akmen / AFP.

Portman starred as Queen Padmé Amidala in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith. Despite mixed reviews from fans and critics, the prequel trilogy grossed $2.5 billion at the box office.

Lucasfilm announced in May that Waititi would be directing his own theatrical Star Wars film, but the production company was unclear about when Waititi’s addition to the franchise would debut.

“Not this year,” Waititi said.

“I’m going to be in New Zealand from August until the end of the year with Our Flag Means Death and Time Bandits and during that time I will still be writing. I’m still trying to figure out what the story is.”

Waititi did say that he had a lot of work ahead of him.

“I’m never gonna please the fans,” he said.

“You know, I don’t want to mess with something that’s so treasured. Also, you feel like you’ve got to do a lot of research . . . and I don’t have any time.”

Waititi directed Portman in Thor: Love and Thunder. Photo by Jasin Boland. ©Marvel Studios 2022.

Natalie Portman, Taika Waititi and Tessa Thompson attend the UK Gala Screening of Marvel Studios' Thor: Love and Thunder. Picture: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Disney.

Some die-hard Star Wars fans found Waititi’s lack of knowledge disturbing.

“Why do they keep giving Star Wars movies to directors who aren’t that knowledgeable about Star Wars in the first place?” one disgruntled fan tweeted.

“We expect a guy directing a Star Wars movie to know one of the main characters of Star Wars, ” another tweeted.

Thor: Love and Thunder is in cinemas now

– with New York Post