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Seemingly innocuous dialogue will pop up again in another entry. Sometimes, these returns come decades later. Whether or not a line is any good, audiences can always count on it showing up again in some form or another. Sure, it makes the galaxy feel smaller, but it cements the pulpy cheese factor that Star Wars thrives on.
10 “Hello There.”
This is Obi-Wan Kenobi’s first line of the franchise (if you don’t count the weird scream he uses to ward off the Sand People). As the Jedi Master pulls back his hood, he greets R2-D2 in this friendly fashion. It immediately puts the droid at ease along with the audience.
Considering that positive first impression, it felt right to bring it back to what was originally the series’ conclusion: Revenge of the Sith. A younger Kenobi drops in to confront General Grievous and his droid army. It’s not a serious confrontation, but merely a distraction. As such, he greets his enemy as if they were having a cup of tea.
It’s ironic that Grievous himself turns it back on Kenobi in The Clone Wars. Infiltrating his opponent’s flagship, Obi-Wan walks right into an ambush. The cackling general says the same two words in a condescending tone. Just because they’re about to fight doesn’t mean they can’t be polite.
9 “Wipe Them Out. All Of Them.”
As one would imagine, this line comes from a villain. During the climax of The Phantom Menace, the Gungans gather to wage war on the invaders. The Trade Federation contacts Darth Sidious, who issues this command. His apprentice must have later taken it to heart.
Count Dooku sanctions a similar slaughter in The Clone Wars. In retaliation for the Nightsisters’ attempt on his life (which itself was revenge for his betrayal of Ventress), the Separatist leader orders General Grievous to “wipe the witches out. All of them.” At least the general is more successful than the Trade Federation; the Nightsisters don’t survive the day.
8 “There’s No Such Thing As Luck”
Here’s another gold nugget from the original film. After Han Solo dismisses a Jedi’s heightened senses as luck. Kenobi counters, “In my experience, there’s no such thing as luck.” Future Star Wars writers must have taken that as essential to every Jedi’s belief.
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The Clone Wars passes it on to Ki Adi Mundi. As the Republic armies depart for a massive invasion, an admiral wishes the Jedi good luck. Mundi calmly replies that there’s no such thing. Considering how badly the landing goes, the troops probably wished for a bit of it regardless.
7 “Do Or Do Not. There Is No Try.”
Among the most famous in the franchise, this line comes in The Empire Strikes Back when Luke Skywalker attempts to lift his ship out of the swamp. Yoda makes the assertion not to try, but do. It doesn’t work, but that hasn’t stopped the saying from gaining worldwide notoriety.
Kanan Jarrus aims for similar wisdom when teaching Ezra Bridger in Star Wars Rebels. He repeats the line verbatim. Ezra raises a good pint, though, asking how he can do something if he doesn’t try to do it. Kanan has no retort, explaining that he simply stole the bit from Yoda. Keep in mind that the swamp-dweller is 900 years old, so he might not be all there.
6 “I Am One With The Force, And The Force Is With Me.”
This bizarre affirmation comes in Rogue One. The blind Chirrut Imwe (totally a real name) walks into the Empire’s line of fire. He repeats this line as he goes, relying on the Force to protect him. It actually works; the Stormtroopers miss every shot until the climax. Then again, that’s normal.
What’s not normal is a Jedi learning about Order 66 and living to tell about it. The Clone Wars reveals that the clones’ betrayal stems from a chip in their brains. Ahsoka Tano removes this chip from Captain Rex, muttering this mantra as she searches for it. Thankfully, it leads to a better result: the chip comes out, and both parties survive.
5 “I Know What I Have To Do, But I Don’t Know If I Have The Strength To Do It.”
Even after turning to the Dark Side, Kylo Ren struggles with the call to the light. His father, Han Solo, tries reasoning with him in The Force Awakens. Ren confesses that he doesn’t know if he has the strength to do what’s needed. In a surprise that everyone saw coming, however, he kills his dad as a personal rite of Sith passage.
That doubtful statement fulfills the same function going the other way. In The Rise of Skywalker, Ren sees a vision of Han, who once again beckons him back to the light. The kid repeats the line before ultimately reforming. It’s a fitting parallel to show the shifting morality, but the aftermath isn’t quite as impactful since he just chucks his lightsaber into the sea.
4 “There Are Alternatives To Fighting.”
Obi-Wan really was instrumental in shaping the Jedi code in the first Star Wars flick. As his ship drifts closer to the Death Star, Han Solo ponders going out, guns blazing. Kenobi suggests an alternative: hiding beneath the floorboards, sneaking through the space station, and disabling the tractor beam.
The line foreshadows a similar goal in the 2003 Clone Wars serial, albeit with a different method. Anakin and Obi-Wan travel through the sewers to infiltrate a droid base. Skywalker wants to fight his way to the shield generator, but Kenobi whips out an alternative. He gently rolls a batch of bombs toward the target. Anakin complains that it’s no fun, but subtler solutions are often more efficient.
3 “Size Matters Not.”
Yoda gives Luke another piece of advice for lifting his ship. With the Force, “size matters not.” He uses himself as an example: a small yet powerful Jedi Master. Luke reaffirms this when he likens Grogu to Yoda in The Book of Boba Fett. He even uses the same backward speech. As an all-encompassing energy field, the Force is mightier than any structure, weapon, or object.
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The appropriately-titled Force Unleashed puts that to the test. Starkiller is alarmed to see an Imperial warship heading straight for him. Former Jedi and mentor figure General Kota tells him to bring it down. “You’re a Jedi, boy!” he shouts. “Size means nothing to you!” Then, in the game’s most iconic set-piece, the hero pulls the ship crashing down. It shows the Force’s power more than Yoda ever did.
2 “The Dark Side Is A Pathway To Many Abilities Some Consider To Be Unnatural.”
What a sales pitch! Revenge of the Sith sees Palpatine tempt Anakin toward abandoning the Jedi, stressing that the Dark Side has several abnormal perks. Among them is the power to save people from death. Skywalker has always wanted this, especially now that he’s plagued by premonitions of his wife’s demise. As one can imagine, it’s a convincing argument.
That’s probably why Palpatine also feeds it to Kylo Ren in The Rise of Skywalker. Here, it’s meant to serve as an explanation for how the Sith Lord survived the Death Star explosion, but it utterly fails at that. No concrete info accompanies it, so viewers still don’t understand his miraculous return. If anything, they’re more confused.
1 “I’ve Got A Bad Feeling About This.”
Bring on the memes. This cliché has lasted for the entire franchise. Luke and Han say it during the Death Star sequence of Episode 4; Leia says it in the asteroid field of Episode 5; Obi-Wan says it at the start of Episode 1; Anakin says it in the arena of Episode 2; Han says it again during the squid monster scene in Episode 7. Those are just a few examples.
This tired line shows up in nearly every Star Wars product in one form or another. It’s unclear why this is. Maybe it’s a private joke among the creators. Whatever the reason, viewers either laugh or cringe every time they hear it.
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