In some ways, it would make more sense for her to appear in Ahsoka. The show has used flashbacks both in the traditional sense and through the strange limbo space the World Between Worlds to show characters and moments from Ahsoka’s past. We saw Ahsoka (Rosario Dawson) interact with Anakin, her former Jedi master, last season, so it’s not outside of this show’s purview to find a way to bring back Padmé from the past for new scenes.
In the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Tales of the Jedi, Padmé and Ahsoka are shown to have a close relationship. Just as Anakin is like a brother to her, Padmé is like an older sister. After Padmé’s death, Ahsoka even risks potential capture just to attend her funeral on Naboo. She not only had the loss of Anakin to deal with in the aftermath of Order 66, she had to deal with losing Padmé too.
While bringing characters back from the dead for the sake of nostalgia is something we truly believe Star Wars should take a step back from, we will make an exception to see Portman again, especially after her smaller, grim role in Revenge of the Sith. Just as Christensen and McGregor have had a chance to step back into their Clone Wars-era roles and build Star Wars legacy outside of the Prequel films, Portman should have a chance to do that with Padmé. She is such an interesting character, and unfortunately the prequels don’t entirely do her justice, despite Portman’s best efforts.
If Obi-Wan Kenobi really did almost bring Portman back, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see it, even as deleted scenes. Hopefully if and when she does return to Star Wars, she’ll get the fanfare she deserves from Lucasfilm and fans alike.