Keira Knightley played Padmé Amidala’s handmaiden, Sabé, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. The actors Natalie Portman and Keira Knightley are so similar that some have believed they’re related, and George Lucas took advantage of this in the prequels. He cast Knightley as a Portman doppelganger, the handmaiden Sabé.
Amusingly, Knightley hasn’t always seemed fond of her minor role. Back in 2020, Knightley even got confused about whether she played Padmé herself. “I saw the film once,” she admitted. “I think I was 12 when I did it, and I saw it the year after and I’ve never seen it again.“
Keira Knightley Definitely Remembers Sabé’s Name Now
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Speaking to ScreenRant back in September, Knightley jokingly talked about contacting Ryan Gosling – one of the cast of Star Wars: Starfighter – to discuss the idea of returning to Star Wars. “Do you think I’m going to get a spinoff? We’ll go pitch it to Disney,” she quipped.
The most amusing thing, though, is that Knightley has finally remembered her character’s name. “I’m going to phone Ryan [Gosling] and be like, ‘Dude, what happened to Sabé?’“
Knightley rightly pointed out that she could even work with Natalie Portman again, despite Padmé’s fate. “We can go back in time. It’s okay. We don’t have to worry about that kind of stuff. Prequels.“
What Happened To Sabé After The Phantom Menace
Sabé’s fate has been revealed in a wide range of different mediums. E.K. Johnston’s novels reveal that she remained in Padmé’s employ even after The Phantom Menace. In fact, Padmé sent Sabé to Tatooine to free Anakin’s mother from slavery. Shmi had already been sold by Watto, and Sabé wasn’t able to track her down.
Sabé became an early rebel after the birth of the Empire, convinced there was more to Padmé’s death than the Empire pretended. She remained active in a rebel cell known as the Amidalans, ultimately crossing paths with Darth Vader himself. She was manipulated into working with Vader for a time, but the partnership didn’t go well.
All this means Knightley is right; Sabé’s story is far from unfinished, and it’s easy to imagine some of it being adapted into live-action. Perhaps her Star Wars idea isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.