Natalie Portman Being Courted By The Wachowskis For 'Jupiter Ascending'

Black Swan star Natalie Portman was hotter than hot coming out of last year's Oscar season, a freshly minted Best Actress winner with one just-released film (No Strings Attached) and two more (Your Highness and Thor) lined up for the next few months. Since then, however, she's been laying low, with no new projects on her upcoming slate. No, it wasn't the supposed Oscar curse at work — Portman's hiatus came courtesy of her son Aleph, who was born in June. (Damn kids.) Portman shot her last three films before her pregnancy, and has taken on no new roles since.

But now it appears Portman's finally getting ready to head back to work, potentially with a movie every bit as gloriously bizarre as the one that won her the Oscar. Andy and Lana Wachowski reportedly want the actress for their upcoming Jupiter Ascending, and there's a real possibility that Portman will accept.

The same source says that Portman is "seriously weighing" the Jupiter Ascending lead, perhaps in part because the project's fall start date would allow her more time to spend with her family before she ends her maternity leave. The only other movie Portman's attached to star in at this time is Thor 2, though recent reports suggest she may also be interested in making a documentary based on Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals.

Specific details on Jupiter Ascending are still being kept under tight wraps, but we do know it'll be the Wachowskis' next move after they finish the epically weird, highly anticipated Cloud Atlas. (For which Portman was a rumored cast member early on.) That film, which the siblings directed with Tom Twyker, has yet to get an official release date, but will likely open sometime this fall.