

It wasn’t until 2002 that Lucas fully dove into the love story between Padme and Anakin in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

All the signs pointed towards Natalie Portman’s character, Padme, despite no romantic interaction between her and Anakin (aside from nine-year-old Anakin asking 14-year-old Padme if she is an angel). Although the character was only nine years old in the film, fans already started to speculate who the mother of Luke and Leia would turn out to be. However, the film did introduce Anakin Skywalker, the boy who would eventually become Darth Vader, father of Luke and Leia Skywalker. The movie made a ton of money, but was met by an underwhelming fan reaction, as it lacked any resemblance of a throughline. In 1999, George Lucas made his return to the Star Wars universe with the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace.
