The 50 greatest quotes from 'Star Wars' films

“Star Wars” was a sea change for film, which is wild considering that “Jaws” had been a sea change just two years earlier. It is packed with indelible quotes that have become burned into the cultural firmament. Obi-Wan Kenobi’s description of Mos Eisley, and its sordid cantina, is a line that almost anybody can recognize, even if they have never seen “Star Wars.”

Rarely does a hologram get to deliver an iconic line of dialogue. It helps that we hear Princess Leia’s line over and over as it is projected by R2-D2. However, it also helps that it has an almost lyrical nature to it, and also that it speaks to the stakes of the circumstances.

The Force. It’s introduced in “Star Wars,” and it would start to get explained and tweaked in ways that were to the detriment of the concept. In the first film, it’s basically just a thing for Obi-Wan to talk about, even from beyond the grave when he uses the Force to tell Luke to, well, use the Force.

Darth Vader is a quintessential villain, and it is kind of funny in hindsight that in the first film he doesn’t even seem like the dude in charge. He seems more like the enforcer for the Empire, a guy in an imposing outfit with eerie respiration. Of course, he also uses the Force to choke a dude with his mind, and that helps to make a baddie seem scary.

We’re getting a bit of everybody in the mix here, and so how could we not include a Han Solo line? If Luke Skywalker seemed a little cheesy, and all the Force stuff a bit goofy, that was fine, because Han Solo seemed to feel the same way. He’s the winking rogue, the guy getting by on guile and charm, and also a balance to the sci-fi sincerity of the rest of George Lucas’ story. This line is a stellar example of that.

Luke Skywalker goes through a lot to try and save Princess Leia. Getting to her prison cell on the Death Star was not easy, to be sure. In disguise, Luke arrives to rescue Leia, and this is how he is greeted. Other than Han, no “Star Wars” character is as skilled in sarcasm as Leia. No wonder they are drawn to one another.

Yoda is a funny character in the lore of “Star Wars.” We are introduced to this Jedi legend in exile, and he’s this tiny green puppet (well, an alien in the world of the film, but a puppet to us). Also, Yoda speaks in a distinctive manner that has become famous. In later films, they would lean too heavily into Yoda’s diction, but in “Empire Strikes Back” it hasn’t gotten there yet. Thus, we get a line like this.

We almost went with “Luke, I am your father,” even if that isn’t the real quote. That is the longtime misquotation that itself became iconic. Outside the realm of the film, it makes a better quote. In the film, though, Darth Vader’s reveal to Luke is said in this fashion, and it still hits.

Of course, this line only works thanks to the line that comes before it. Leia and Han have bickered since they first met, in that classic movie style, and then Han is about to be frozen in carbonite by Jabba the Hutt. A bereft Leia declares, for the first time, “I love you,” Han, scoundrel that he is, responds with this.

Speaking of that bickering! This time, we’re showcasing the Leia line that leads to the quippy response from Han. Leia is fed up with Solo, and she drops this line on him. The “Nerf herder” really sets it apart, as it speaks to the universe of “Star Wars” in a vague, but distinct, way. Then, of course, Han responds with “Who’s scruffy looking?”

“Empire Strikes Back” opens with gusto by dropping us onto the ice world of Hoth. It’s a new planet, a new world, a new environment. There are also tauntauns there, and Han has to slice one open to provide warmth for Luke, who is at risk of succumbing to the cold. This is his response to that experience.

Hey, Han is apparently quite the quotable character! Who knew? He clearly dominates the classic lines from “Empire Strikes Back.” Quoting Chewbacca is effectively impossible, unless we wanted to drop one of his “indistinct growling” lines. We can tell when Chewie is laughing, at least, and Han is not enthused with his best friend laughing at him.

In “Empire Strikes Back,” we get the revelation that Vader is Luke’s father. In “Return of the Jedi,” we find out from a dying Yoda that Luke has surviving family. Of course, we find out that Leia is Luke’s twin sister. Now, this wasn’t George Lucas’ plan when the series started so, um, there’s some weird stuff in hindsight in the first two films knowing that Luke and Leia are siblings.

Shout out to Admiral Ackbar. That fish dude could have just been one of those odd-looking aliens that populate “Star Wars.” However, he did get one line, one that has become memed time and time again. Ackbar sees a situation unfold and, well, he knows it’s a trap.

Mon Mothma has become unexpectedly big in the “Star Wars” universe, particularly in “Andor.” Chalk that up to her being one of two female characters of any significance in the first three films, perhaps. Regardless, like the good admiral from Mon Calamari, Mothma got to drop a line that gave her a place in the lore of “Star Wars” even as a tertiary character.

It’s a runner in “Star Wars” that Han, pragmatist that he is, will declare that he has a bad feeling about something. In “Return of the Jedi,” that is elevated to being a really bad feeling. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” is a line synonymous with the series these days, and it has become quite memorable as a result, so much so that it can be riffed on time and time again.

“Star Wars” has given us two of the most iconic robots in pop culture. R2-D2 talks in beeps and boops, but C-3PO talks like, well, a fussy English gentleman. Also, the Ewoks assume he is a god? That leads to this line, wherein the Ewoks are about to, um, murder Han Solo and feast on his flesh? Devoid of context, that’s pretty weird stuff.

The culmination of the original “Star Wars” trilogy, and for decades the story as a whole, was Luke refusing to turn to the dark side at the behest of his father and Emperor Palpatine, leading to Darth Vader, aka Anakin Skywalker, sacrificing himself to save his son and stop the Emperor. This line from Luke is a key turning point in that conclusion, which was arguably the only time a “Star Wars” trilogy ended in a satisfying way.

And now, we move onto the prequel. Don’t worry, there will be fewer quotes from each of these films, as they lack the panache and cultural staying power of the original three movies. “The Phantom Menace” is a bad movie, cheesy and unpleasant looking. Anakin Skywalker, the future Darth Vader, is a straight-up moppet of a little kid, and he delivers this line which is goofy as all get out, and delivered with all the in-over-his-head gusto of poor Jake Lloyd, who never should have been cast in the role.

Liam Neeson is no slouch as an actor, and he is one of the leads of “The Phantom Menace.” Of course, his Qui-Gon Jinn is not one of the people who make it out of “Episode I.” The mentor to a young Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon is speaking to young Ani here. When Anakin says it isn’t possible to kill a Jedi, Qui-Gon solemnly responds with this line.

When people quibble about “The Phantom Menace,” when they aren’t talking trash about Jake Lloyd or the character of Jar-Jar Binks, they complain about how much tedious politicking makes up the movie. The moments that aren’t pod races or fights with Darth Maul are conversational, but in a dry way. Padme Amidala fights for her people in this line, but it also is a reminder of all the “committee” elements of “Phantom Menace.”

Perhaps the most infamous line in the history of “Star Wars.” The original trilogy has so many iconic lines, genuinely good lines of dialogue that pop off the screen. Left to his own devices for his prequel trilogy, Lucas really struggled to recapture that magic. Of course, it also hurts that Hayden Christensen delivers this poorly-written line as woodenly and awkwardly as possible.

Yoda does it again. His distinct voice and unusual sentence structure helps make this line, otherwise somewhat matter-of-fact, pop. It’s a shame that Yoda is totally CGI when delivering this line, as the puppet was part of the fun of the first trilogy.

Here is a line that is among the most memorable because it speaks to everything wrong with the prequels, and specifically “Attack of the Clones.” Obi-Wan is using the Jedi mind trick here on a goofy looking character selling “death sticks,” convincing him to go home and rethink his life. The “death sticks” are basically cigarettes, which is something so eye rolling it feels almost impossible that it made it into the script. And yet, it did. Also, the character who sells death sticks is known either as Elan Sel’Sabagno or Elan Sleazebaggano, the latter a name actually listed on the “Star Wars” website.

“Revenge of the Sith” is the best of the prequel films, though still not good, and it has some actual emotional heft to it. Obi-Wan and Anakin have a standoff that had to live up to everything we came into this movie knowing about these two. Honestly, their duel does mostly manage to do that, and Obi-Wan provides genuine pathos as a character with this line.

This would not be a memorable line if not for the modern meme world we live in. Obi-Wan says “Hello there” to General Grievous, which is simplistic in an odd way. Alec Guinness had said it to R2-D2 in “Star Wars,” but the Ewan McGregor version of the character saying it turned it into a meme. So much so, that when McGregor reprised the role in Kenobi’s Disney+ show, they made sure to include “Hello there.”

We went into “Revenge of the Sith” knowing it had to end with Anakin becoming Darth Vader. He does, and then, well, Lucas dropped the ball. Vader, in his first moments of resurrection, hears what happened to Padme and exclaims with a melodramatic “Nooooooooo!” that really popped the balloon on any gravitas in the moment.

In a world where existing intellectual property is mined until nothing is left, naturally we got a Han Solo prequel. Unfortunately, it seemed like the conception behind “Solo” never went beyond knowing people think Han Solo is cool. The prequel’s production was a mess, and it left us with a mediocre movie that has some sweaty moments. A great example of that is this line from Han Solo, a heavy-handed reference to the running “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” line from the original trilogy.

One thing “Solo” was able to do was give us more Lando Calrissian, and also give us some young Lando. There was enough mystery left there for Donald Glover to make him feel like a fresh character, even when shackled to a half-thought-out droid character that probably should have been left on the drawing board. Lando is supposed to be cool, and this line does work as a cool quip.

Woody Harrelson’s Beckett is something of a mentor to Han Solo, who of course becomes a rogue criminal with one friend he trusts in Chewbacca. This is Beckett’s ethos, and you can see how it may have rubbed off on Solo. However, this line was in the “Solo” trailer, but it also may be one of the lines that didn’t make the final film? Like we said, this was a messy production that had multiple directors. Hey, memorable lines from trailers count. We’ve never seen “Bringing Down the House,” but we definitely remember Eugene Levy saying, “You’ve got me straight trippin’, boo!”

“Solo” kind of killed the standalone “Star Wars” films, but at least before that we got “Rogue One.” This is the best modern “Star Wars” movie, and in the running as the best film in the franchise, full stop. Among the group of roustabouts who come together to fight the Empire is Chirrut Imwe, played by Donnie Yen, a blind warrior with a religious devotion to the Force. He says this line repeatedly, and because he’s Donnie Yen, it works.

Jyn Erso is a Han Solo-esque character in the lead role, but weirdly it works here but doesn’t in “Solo.” She is brought into the rebellion because her father Galen built the Death Star for the Empire, and because she is also the only one who can safely get to the unhinged separatist rebel Saw Gerrara. At first, Jyn doesn’t buy into the rebellion at all, but clearly she does eventually, as this line indicates.

Speaking of Saw Gerrara, he’s, well, he’s a lot. That’s half character design, half Forest Whitaker completely hamming it up. However, he’s not a bad character, and Saw is definitely memorable. This line is his final bit of impact on the rebellion.

Part of what makes “Rogue One” work so well is that they got actors like Mads Mikkelsen and Ben Mendelsohn for secondary roles. Mikkelsen plays Galen Erso, the reluctant designer of the Death Star, while Mendelsohn is Orson Krennic, a key higher-up in the Empire. When Krennic insists that Erso needs to return to his work on the Death Star, he says they are close to providing peace to the galaxy. This is Erso’s knowing response, which leads to Krennic saying, “Well, you have to start somewhere.”

It’s one word, sure, and it’s spoken by a digitally de-aged Princess Leia that is knocking on the door of the Uncanny Valley. That’s alright, though. This line speaks volumes. Everybody on Cassius Andor’s team has died, but they have succeeded in getting the secrets of the Death Star to the rebellion, the secrets that Leia has at the beginning of “Star Wars.” That first film is now subtitled “A New Hope,” and this is that hope.

The prequels had landed with a thud, so the expectations for a new “Star Wars” film were met with a mix of excitement and concern. Then, “The Force Awakens” became one of the biggest films ever and was largely a success. It blended new characters and old-school “Star Wars” with gusto. Case in point, this line from Han Solo, which is meta in the right way.

Hey, there won’t be many more opportunities to quote Han Solo. This is a key line, because Solo is really bridging the gap. The Jedi are all but gone, but Han knows the truth. He was dubious himself back in the day, but then Solo hung with Obi-Wan and Luke. Now, Han is the one assuring people that the Force is indeed real.

Lightsabers are key to the mythology of “Star Wars,” of course. Luke’s lightsaber is stored away under the watchful eye of Maz Kanata, an interesting new alien character that sort of ended up getting pushed to the periphery. Rey finds Luke’s lightsaber, as it has indeed called to her. The moment, and the line, is momentous.

It’s how this line ends up playing out that makes it memorable. Rey has some sort of innate connection to the Force, but she needs to figure it all out, and she doesn’t have a mentor, what with the only known living Jedi — Luke Skywalker — in exile. She is trying to use the Jedi mind trick, and at first it doesn’t work, but eventually Rey is able to make it happen.

Kylo Ren, aka Ben Solo, is the son of Han and Leia who has gone over to the dark side. Kylo is confronted by his father, who is part of a mission to infiltrate the First Order’s base. It’s partly a diversion tactic, partly an attempt at a sincere heart-to-heart with his estranged son. Kylo is resistant, though, and says this. Then, he kills his father, finally giving Harrison Ford the death he wanted for Han Solo, oh, decades earlier.

“The Last Jedi” proved polarizing, but it certainly has some memorable lines. Kylo spends much of the movie trying to convert Rey to his side. He thinks they can leave all the stuff about the Jedi and the Empire behind them and rule together. This is what Kylo says in his attempt, which notably fails.

This is not the first time “Rebel scum” is said in a “Star Wars” movie. It is spoken in the original trilogy derisively by a member of the Empire. Here, though, it is said by Finn to Captain Phasma. She calls her former charge scum, and he proudly responds in mind.

Whether you love Rian Johnson’s take on the “Star Wars” universe or dislike it, you probably find Benicio del Toro’s “DJ” to be a real swing that doesn’t quite fit. Admittedly, a lot of that is in the fact it seems Johnson gave del Toro free range to do as much business as he wanted. On the other hand, there is something interesting about having a guy truly outside the battle with cynicism about both sides. He offers up his philosophy simply here in a line that sums him up nicely.

Some had an issue with Luke’s portrayal in “The Last Jedi,” including Mark Hamill at first. Personally, we like the burnt out — but not jaded! — version of Luke in exile. Of course, by this point he is out of exile, having been brought back into the battle. He stands up to Kylo Ren, who Luke feels responsible for turning to the dark side, and also evokes his father Han Solo as well.

One more Luke line from the same part of the film. Hey, it’s probably the best part of the movie, and it is a great sendoff for Luke. Knowing this is the end of the line for him, Luke gives this declaration to Kylo, and to the First Order in general. This will not be the end of the Jedi, even if it is the end of Luke. It is Luke following in the footsteps of Obi-Wan before him.

This is the only line from a crawl we included. Now, these lines aren’t spoken, but for “The Rise of Skywalker,” we wanted to acknowledge the crawls. Of course, this is an infamous version of the crawl. Weirdly, frankly inexplicably, the return of Emperor Palpatine, ostensibly from the dead, was not done in any of the “Star Wars” movies, but in a “Fortnite” game. No, really.

This is one line out of several that all belong here. Rey is bolstered by the spirit of many dead Jedi that came before her. They all speak out to her, giving her the strength to rise. From Luke to Obi-Wan to Mace Windu, Rey has all the Jedi with her. There’s some dicey stuff with Rey in this film, but this bit works.

“The Rise of Skywalker” indulges in quite a bit of fan service. Here is one such example of that. Maz Kanata gives Chewie a medal. This is done entirely because “Star Wars” fans noted that, in “Return of the Jedi,” Chewie isn’t given a medal like the “human” members of the crew. J.J. Abrams included this entirely for those fans, thinking it would be greeted with enthusiasm. Not so much.

“The Rise of Skywalker” is a spotty movie — not as bad as a lot of people feel, but definitely not good. That isn’t all at the feet of Abrams and company. Sadly, Carrie Fisher died while the film was in production, and Leia was supposed to be a key piece of the movie. Now, though, that was not possible. Fisher is in the film, making use of extra footage and the reuse of lines of dialogue she had already recorded. This is Leia’s last line before her character dies, as she speaks out to her son Ben to try and find him and turn him away from the dark side. It is also, as such, Fisher’s last line in the role as well.

Whether or not you liked it, the end of “The Rise of Skywalker” is memorable. It’s also undeniably clunky. Rey is asked what her name is, and then asked what her full name is, something that has probably never happened in casual conversation. It’s entirely a prompt for Rey, an orphan with no connection to her family, to adopt a new name. She is now Rey Skywalker.