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The strange story of the most famous quote from Star Wars

The big picture

  • The line “I have a bad feeling about this” is a long-standing Star Wars tradition and a tribute to the franchise’s legacy.
  • George Lucas repeatedly used this line as a thematic note in his films to reflect the presence of the Force.
  • Changes to the classic lineage in newer Star Wars stories show how the franchise has evolved without escaping its roots.



Many things give Star Wars a magical feel. From the spectacle of intergalactic space battles, epic lightsaber duels and unique aliens to the family drama at the heart of George Lucas Original films, The science fiction juggernaut has balanced its mythological dimension with an intimate, relatable focus for almost fifty years. With new footage for Disney's The Mandalorian and Grogu Film premiere at D23 and Jude Laws Skeleton Crew Lucasfilm even seems willing to continue to honor its dual heritage of space adventure and parental strife, but One of the most significant elements of the success of the Star Wars universe is often overlooked– the use of memorable dialogues in the franchise.


Although George Lucas' dialogues have been rightly criticized in the past, it is undeniable that The Star Wars franchise has still produced some of the most famous movie quotes in Hollywood history. Phrases like “May the force be with you” have been ingrained in pop culture since the release of the original Star Wars trilogy, while “The Dark Side” is mentioned just as often to suggest a person's descent into hatred and greed. But while these and many more of the best Star Wars quotes contribute greatly to the world-building and storytelling of the franchise, A phrase common in the galaxy has developed a life of its own since the premiere of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The phrase “I don't have a good feeling about this” has subsequently been uttered in some form by various characters in various Star Wars projects. So what's the story behind one of the galaxy's most popular sayings?


Star Wars: A New Hope, 1977, Poster

star Wars

Created by
George Lucas

Current film
Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker

First TV show
Star Wars The Clone Wars

Latest TV Show
The Acolyte


The infamous Star Wars series has a long galactic history

As the leading actress in the most famous Star Wars films, it is only right that Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker was the first character to utter one of the most classic phrases in the galaxy. The young Jedi initially describes that he had “a very bad feeling” when he first approached the Death Star in A new hopeand introduces the audience to the line that would appear in countless future Star Wars projects. In addition, not only Harrison Ford'S Han Solo also makes this snarky remark while the group is trapped in the Death Star's trash compactor, but the “bad feeling” line has appeared in every major Star Wars film since Lucas' first galactic foray. Establishing a universal tradition of repeating the line as a subtle nod to the franchise's larger legacy.


Ironically, the only film in the Skywalker saga that deviates from this long-running iteration is Daisy Ridley's King Palpatine, as Rian Johnson'S Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi subverts the classic Star Wars cliche by not having any characters audibly recite the franchise's classic tagline. Instead, the sequel trilogy's spherical droid, BB-8, delivers the phrase with his own mechanical beep, and gives the usual dialogue a more humorous touch. Given the sequels' repeated desire to expand beyond Star Wars' familiar past, this decision to retain the familiar gag pays homage to George Lucas' original films while also strengthening the connection between the time periods of the two trilogies. The Father of the Galaxy originally had a deeper motivation for this sequel.


Star Wars' longest-running inside joke reveals how the original franchise came to be

Han Solo, Leia and Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Image via Lucasfilm Ltd.

In his audio commentary on the DVD Special Features by Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom MenaceGeorge Lucas offers the clearest insight into the meaning of Star Wars' most frequently repeated line. Discussion of the film's opening scene, in which Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) And Ewan McGregor'S When the young Obi-Wan Kenobi arrives over Naboo to break the Trade Federation blockade, Lucas describes Obi-Wan's repetition of the line as a “thematic note” intentionally incorporated into all of George Lucas' Star Wars films. Lucas admits that his line about the “bad feeling” is more of a joke than a drama, which is a departure from some of the more serious repetitions that occur in Star Wars – such as the franchise's severed-hand storyline. But his description of the inclusion of dialogue can still enlighten the audience about how one of their favorite blockbuster franchises came about.


While John Williams' The stirring soundtrack to Star Wars rightly receives much of the credit for the franchise's beautiful music, Lucas' description of his dialogue illustrates how The idea of ​​musicality also strongly influenced the development of his Star Wars scripts. As a “note” in Lucas's broader dramatic work, the Star Wars creator's repeated use of the line “bad feeling” shows that Lucas viewed his saga as a piece of music, with the constant repetition of certain images and motifs underscoring the series' central themes. In addition, this line can represent the constant presence of power, because it describes a character's intuitive discomfort with their surroundings, and Jedi often say it. This interpretation is especially strong because the quote encouraged some of Star Wars' best Jedi to listen to their feelings in order to bring balance to their films.


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The repeated Star Wars line captures the modern spirit of the franchise

In a broader sense, the idea that the most frequently repeated lines of dialogue in Star Wars represent the consistent themes of the franchise, however can help modern viewers understand current Star Wars stories. In recent years, the “bad feeling” quote from the series has been used frequently outside of the main Star Wars Skywalker saga, appearing in a variety of Star Wars animated series and current releases on Disney+. Often, these current series and spin-offs put a new twist on the classic phrase, with Alden Ehrenreich'S Han Solo gets a little too boastful when he declares in his prequel, “I have a really good feeling about this,” and Alan Tudyk'S K-2S0 interrupted the attempt to recite the line in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. On the surface, these changes allow Star Wars characters to poke fun at their own franchise, but as thematic references to George Lucas’ Star Wars past, They also show how the franchise has evolved since the release of A new hope.


While Lucas' original Star Wars films are undeniably the source of all modern Star Wars love and stories, there is no denying that the franchise has evolved since the original and prequel trilogies. Whether it The Acolytes recent interpretation of the Force or the more controversial additions to the canon in Disney's sequel trilogy, the focus of Star Wars in recent years was to develop and reinvent unexplored corners of the series' narrative universe. The Ahsoka The series took that mission literally by showing that the galaxy of Star Wars is even bigger than it seems, but most projects don't need to stray that far. By uniquely continuing the story of a lineage that was crucial to Lucas' original design, modern Star Wars can express its broader exploration of the Force and give fans a lighthearted Insight into the mystery at the heart of your favorite galaxy.


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