Star Wars: Episode 1 – Phantom Menace marks its 25th anniversary this year and for that reason, the movie will be hitting theatres again on May 3, 2024. Leading to that, the cast members of the movie revealed some interesting insights and facts about the movie which will surprise a lot of fans. Check out what Natalie Portman and Ian McDiarmid revealed in an interview with Empire Magazine below.
Natalie Portman reveals her approach towards the role of Padmé Amidala
In the interview, Natalie Portman revealed that ahead of the shooting for Phantom Menace, she was doing a press tour for Leon in Japan. Here she had the chance to visit the Kabuki theatre, which is known for glamorous performances and costumes that include kumadori makeup. Post that, once Portman saw the designs for the costume, hair, and makeup for Queen Amidala, she immediately recalled her visit to this theatre, and she picked up details like “characters moving their eyes, the slow and regal way they moved their bodies” as an inspiration for this role.
Palpatine actor reveals that cast members weren’t aware of his return
Spoilers ahead for anyone who isn’t caught up with Star Wars. Ian McDiarmid, the actor who plays Emperor Palpatine, revealed that the cast members of The Rise of Skywalker were unaware of the return of his character. McDiarmid revealed that they had plans to keep this a secret for “about a year” and he was only told six months before they were going to shoot. These scenes would be the last ones that were going to be shot for the movie “for obvious reasons”, he added.
Also read: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace to Return to Theaters This May For Its 25th Anniversary
McDiarmid also spoke about how they decided to “half admit it” at the Star Wars Celebration where the trailer was going to be showcased and the “whole place went nuts”. On top of that “half of the cast went nuts too” as they didn’t know McDiarmid was in the movie. The actor who played C3PO, Anthony Daniels, told McDiarmid, “Great God, it’s you! We knew there was someone evil coming up, but we didn’t know you were coming back.” Goes to show how serious they were about keeping this character’s return a secret.
Continue reading: Ian McDiarmid Shares His Theories on Whether Emperor Palpatine Has Sex
