Can anyone remember if the execution of this twist was given any thought throughout the marketing of TPM? What I mean is, aside from any positives or negatives about the storyline and twist of Padme being the queen and a decoy having been used secretly throughout the film, did the marketing of the film support the idea that this was actually a twist at all? As far as I can remember (although I read the novel before watching the film) I think it was widely reported that Natalie Portman was playing Queen Amidala, and that as a result when Natalie Portman was acting as a handmaiden, it was never anything other than "oh. The queen is dressed down, for some reason" any thoughts from the time? compared to TFA's marketing, I wonder if the story would have played better if Keira Knightly had been credited as Queen Amidala in advance, with Portman only credited as Padme - and that if that had been the case, it would have been a more interesting twist to rewatch and be like "Ah, yes - in THAT scene you can clearly see it's Portman, now I know""
I guess if you hadn't paid any attention to the casting and were just a casual fan it might have been a surprise, but I think anyone who had paid even a little attention pretty much figured it out well before the reveal because they knew Natalie was playing the Queen. I was actually surprised they went that route given how open they were about who Natalie was playing in the film.
I dunno, I kinda figured it out on my first viewing as a 10-year-old, even if I didn't wholly understand it (I was a very slow child...) I figured it out simply by wondering why they kept focusing on this singular handmaiden, and why she was never around when the Queen was around. When the twist happened, I was thinking, ‘Well, makes sense, I guess.’ And this was when I didn't even know any of the actual people playing the characters. I didn't really care at the time. It didn't feel like a twist to me, to be honest. :/
Like with Sidious the fun is in you knowing, as the audience, while the characters don't. The whole humor of Qui Gon telling Padme to trust the Queen's judgment of him, is that you know she is the Queen, and he knows it too.
In the junior novelization of the movie, I think a point was made of how he didn't know - at least on Tatooine.
It's fairly obvious he knows in the film though. The Boss Nass scene reveal is more or less proof with how him and Obi Wan are not in the least surprised.
If he didn't figure out early, he probably figured it out by the middle of the movie at the very least.
If he didn't sense it immediately, which I think he did since Obi Wan knows too, I'd say it happens when "the Queen" asks Padme to join them on Tattooine. He doesn't think it's a good idea since the place is very dangerous and the Queen could get hurt.
When I get the chance I'll dig out the relevant quotes from the junior novelization which focus on what Qui-Gon's thinking at the relevant moments.
If the book is merely based on the script it could explain why the author went that route. For all he knew it was supposed to play like a legitimate reveal instead of a "semi reveal". On a side note, I like how Lucas treats his reveals. They are all fairly obvious, and the one that wasn't in ESB has now been made so by the PT. I like it because it makes the movies more rewatchable. A big surprise like in the Sixth Sense only work once.
The adult novel came out earlier than the junior one (which was the same time as the movie) and has more in the way of deleted scenes and extra dialogue.
smart "big' fans knew, but it was never acknowledged going into it, and Portman didn't go on that many talk shows where she was going to be asked specific thing's about the movie.
The marketing didn't play up that Padme Naberrie and Queen Amidala were the same person, mainly because the trailers didn't feature much of Padme and Sabe together in the same scene. They did state that Padme was the handmaiden to the Queen. Some people did figure it out early, thanks to the trailers featuring Portman's natural voice and not the altered version. Back in 97-98, TFN had already deduced that Portman was playing Queen Padme Naberrie Amidala, from various spy reports and what not. Obviously the author didn't understand.
The twist make a nice inverted parallel to the Palpatine/Sidious reveal in ROTS. Some links between the two characters... - Both a Senator from Naboo. - Padme a Queen in TPM inverting Sidious as a "King" in ROTS and the OT. - Red royal guards. - TPM Padme at some stages wears black clothing against her white make-up. As weird as it may sound, Sidious looks similar when he puts on his cloak. - They move in the opposite direction in terms of power; Padme from Queen to Senator to powerless against the Empire, Palpatine from Senator to Supreme Chancellor to Emperor. - Anakin is attached to them personally. There is a significant shift; from a respectable "I will do anything that you ask." to Padme on their potential relationship, to a dark "I will do whatever you ask." to Palpatine when pledging to the dark side to save Padme's life. Palpatine uses Padme's superior position in TPM to create sympathy for Naboo and get himself elected. It seems ironic to me that Padme has more political power than him at this stage, and he is just piggybacking on their planet's plight. Before too long, partially because of this beginning step, he will be the most powerful man in the galaxy. And Padme, a much more compassionate leader, is forgotten. Also note Anakin's reaction to each reveal - pleasant surprise that Padme is the Queen, but when Palpatine gives away he is Sidious he almost kills Palpatine lol. Interesting, I still wasn't sure of whether Qui-Gon knew or not.
It's never made clear if Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan really did know. However, I always understood that the jedi did know before she revealed herself at the Gungan sacred site. As for the decoy thing it was treated matter of factly like the Sidious/Palaptine dual persona during the release of TPM. If you realized it, great. If you didn't realize it, great. But the filmmakers didn't make a concerted effort to hide it from fans and as an important plot twist later on. The whole PT followed the idea of the audience being let in on things far more than the characters are.
Same. I think, on my first viewing, I got it in this conversation: Padme: "The Queen wouldn't approve." Qui Gon: "The Queen doesn't need to know." Padme: "Well, I don't approve." That was kinda the "ah-hah!" moment for me.
"Throughout the film, I have been playing with the fact earlier on that Qui-Gon knows that Padme is the Queen, and he uses that, especially when they go on Tatooine, he taunts her a couple of times, and in the podrace he taunts her a couple of times, because he is having fun with her because he knows she’s the Queen, but the others around her don’t. So he’s been waiting for her to step forward and reveal herself. Anakin is completely surprised but Obi-wan and Qui-gon aren’t." --George Lucas, TPM DVD Commentary.
I don't think it was a "JJ Abrams-level must keep secret at all costs!" type twist. As has been mentioned Portman was reported to play The Queen while she's clearly playing Padme. Also the toys at that time had a recording device that played phrases from the movie. The Original Amidala figure had one with the phrase "This is my decoy, my protection, my loyal bodyguard" which pretty much explained the scenario to me long before seeing the movie.
Anyway, I find it interesting that it's hard to tell exactly in which scenes the Queen is `played by Portman, and in which scenes she's not!
Oh you can tell certainly. Here: Knightley plays the Queen: When the Queen is walking down the stairs on Naboo with the Viceroy. When the Queen is rescued by the Jedi and gets on board the royal starship. When the Queen thanks R2 and orders Padme to clean him up. During the stay on Tatooine. Once the entourage returns to Naboo and they venture to the gungan sacred place. Then once more when the decoy walks up to the doorway and shoots a few droids and the Viceroy mistakes the real queen for a decoy. So basically Portman plays the Queen in the very beginning before the invasion. On Coruscant. On the return to Naboo after she reveals herself at the Gungan sacred place.
The reveals are always about the CHARACTERS nstead of the audience, I prefer that for Epics and such almost always, and usually in general.
