In the following two films of the prequel trilogy, Padmé becomes a member of the Galactic Senate and secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight.
Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which results in his transformation into Darth Vader.
[1] When Lucas began writing The Phantom Menace, he envisioned similarities between Padmé and Leia, who he described as "the daughter who follows so closely in her [mother's] footsteps.
[2][3] Lucas, who both wrote and directed the film, wanted to cast a performer who displayed strength comparable to that of Leia, who is a central character in the original trilogy.
[3] Portman was enthusiastic about the role, and thought it would be empowering for young female viewers to witness the intelligence and leadership abilities of the teenage monarch.
James Berardinelli called her acting in The Phantom Menace "lackluster,"[17] while Annlee Ellingson of Box Office Magazine said her delivery was "stiff and flat, perhaps hindered by the gorgeous but cumbersome costumes.
"[18] In his review of Attack of the Clones, Mike Clark of USA Today complained about the performances of both Portman and Hayden Christensen, who portrays Anakin Skywalker.
He wrote, "Both speak in monotone for doubly deadly effect, though when not burdened by his co-star, Christensen often finds the emotion in his limited intonations.
[20] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle offered a less critical appraisal, describing Portman's portrayal in Revenge of the Sith as "decorative and sympathetic".
[22][citation needed] Padmé makes her first appearance in The Phantom Menace (1999) as the recently elected fourteen-year-old queen of Naboo.
Palpatine sends Padmé into hiding on Naboo, where she and Anakin struggle to maintain a platonic relationship despite their obvious mutual attraction.
When Anakin has a vision of his mother in danger, Padmé accompanies him to Tatooine in a failed attempt to rescue Shmi from a band of Tusken Raiders.
After they receive a message from Obi-Wan, Padmé and Anakin go to Geonosis to aid him, only to be captured and condemned to death by the Separatist leader and Sith Lord Count Dooku.
Meanwhile, Padmé watches with increasing suspicion as Palpatine uses the Clone Wars as an excuse to take near-total control of the Senate.
As Palpatine transforms the Republic into the Galactic Empire and declares himself Emperor, Padmé remarks: "So this is how liberty dies—with thunderous applause."
Obi-Wan Kenobi informs Padmé that Anakin has been seduced to the dark side by Palpatine—who is actually the mastermind of the war—and has killed everyone in the Jedi Temple, including children.
Unable to believe this, Padmé travels to the volcanic planet Mustafar, where Vader has gone to assassinate the Separatist leaders, unaware that Obi-Wan has stowed away on her ship.
After Obi-Wan defeats Vader in a lightsaber duel, he brings Padmé to the secret asteroid base Polis Massa.
Padmé appears in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars, which serves as a pilot episode for the television series of the same name.
As Padmé ends her reign as queen and becomes a senator, she helps liberate a number of slaves on Tatooine, but is unable to free Anakin's mother, Shmi Skywalker.
In the 2000 comic "A Summer's Dream" from Star Wars Tales 5, Padmé is the Princess of Theed, Naboo's capital city.
A young man named Ian Lago falls in love with her, but she places her civic duty over her personal happiness and rejects him.
The young-adult novel Star Wars Episode I Journal: Amidala (1999) depicts Padmé narrowly escaping the Trade Federation.
[38] In the short comic "The Artist of Naboo", a young painter features Padmé in his work and later risks his life to save her.
Despite Captain Typho's protest, she helps Yoda rescue Jedi Master Luminara Unduli and the Padawan Barriss Offee.
In another chapter of the series, she is thrilled by Anakin's graduation to Jedi Knight, and stores his Padawan braid with the necklace he gave her when they first met.