Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley as Padme Amidala in Star Wars
By
Andrew Dyce
Published 17 minutes ago
Andrew Dyce is the Deputy Editor for ScreenRant's coverage of Marvel, DC, and all other comics. Whether superheroes, sci-fi, fantasy, or any other genre, Andrew's decade in the industry and countless hours of analysis on podcasts like the Screen Rant Underground, Total Geekall, The Rings of Power Podcast, Batman v Superman: By The Minute, and more has left its mark.
With over a decade spent at GameRant and ScreenRant, Andrew has made himself known as an outspoken fan and critic of film, television, video games, comics, and more.
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It's no secret that the Star Wars brand is losing momentum rather than gaining it, struggling to break new ground for the franchise's future, without alienating fans of its past. But if Lucasfilm and Disney are looking to Darth Vader to help solve that problem, one prequel character holds the potential to finally tell the villain's greatest unseen story.
Keira Knightley's Prequel Hero is Exactly What Star Wars Needs
Her Role as Padme's Bodyguard is An Incredible Secret in The Canon
Keira Knightley Sabé as Queen Amidala in Star Wars Phantom Menace
There may be few who remember it now, but before Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) revealed herself to the world in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, she operated in secret. Disguised as one of the queen's handmaidens, Padme could move unseen and unthreatened, while another of her handmaidens took her place on the throne.
But this was no random servant or lady in waiting, as Star Wars canon would eventually reveal her to be Sabé (Keira Knightley), one of Queen Amidala's most loyal and skilled bodyguards and operatives. It is a credit to the handmaidens that they appeared demure in The Phantom Menace, having been hand-selected due to their resemblance to Padme, and trained to both use weapons, and become ones, in their defense of the queen.
Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Cast in Final Movie Scene
Sabé was the first among them all, and while her close friendship with Padme was largely shaped in secret, off-screen, her loyalty and devotion to Padme did not die when she did. Nor did her devotion to the young Anakin Skywalker, either.
It was only when the 2020 Star Wars: Darth Vader series from Greg Pak and Luke Ross dug deeper into the days following The Empire Strikes Back that the fate of the handmaidens was revealed (to readers, as well as Vader himself). When his investigation into the days following his and Padme's death brought him face to face with Sabé, Anakin stirred within the Sith Lord, believing he was somehow seeing his late wife.
Darth Vader Meets Sabe The Handmaiden of Padme in Comic
And from that moment forward, Darth Vader was thrown into the kind of character-splitting drama that only he could make possible. Considering where the story went next, it is a narrative Star Wars fans deserve to see, and one tailor made for the likes of Knightley and Hayden Christensen.
The Return of Sabée Would Make The Best Possible Darth Vader TV Show
The Amidalans Are Part of The Best Anakin Story Fans Still Haven't Seen
Hayden Christensen Anakin Skywalker looking serious in Revenge of the Sith
Comic and novel fans insist Darth Vader's struggle to kill Anakin Skywalker is the best Star Wars story never told on film, and while that may be true, it is admittedly not a simple or complete 'narrative' for film or TV series. The reunion of Sabé and Vader, however, provides exactly that.
After acknowledging Luke is his son in Empire's climax, Vader realizes the full sequence of events which unfolded during his 'restoration' at the Emperor's hands. As he lay burned to a crisp and left for dead on a Mustafar lava bank, Padme somehow lived long enough to deliver their child, which was then secreted away and hidden from its father ever since.
Handmaidens of Amidala Return in Darth Vader Comic Art
A rarely humanizing moment for Vader, and one which creates a new, crystal clear mission: investigate Padme's life in the days before and after her death (including her funeral and burial requests), find out who took his child into hiding, and punish them for keeping that child's existence a secret. But as the trusted bodyguards and subjects of a murdered queen, the handmaidens of Padme have their own agenda.
Rebranding themselves as the Amidalans, dedicated to preserving the memory and ideals of their fallen queen, the handmaidens completely redefine who and what Padme Amidala meant to her larger world not seen in the Star Wars films. And having known of her love for the now missing Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, they also seek to one day find his own killer, and avenge his death as well.
Padme Doubles Attacking Darth Vader in Comic Art by Rahzzah
With dramatic irony and character development on every page, and a recontextualizing of the Star Wars story fans think they know front to back, there is no better story to enrich both the prequels and the original trilogy, while honoring and expanding on the characters fans love.
So while we wait for Disney and Lucasfilm to recruit Knightley into this Darth Vader project, let's all spend our time imagining the other top-tier actresses who would jump at the chance to claim the honor of one of Padme's deadly (and beautiful) handmaidens.
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
Created By
George Lucas
Cast
Bob Anderson, Hayden Christensen, James Earl Jones, Matt Lanter, Matt Lucas, Jake Lloyd, David Prowse, Sebastian Shaw
First Appearance
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Died
Star Wars: Episode VI - Return Of The Jedi
Alliance
Jedi, Sith
Race
Human
Expand
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Comics
-
Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader
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Star Wars
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