Star Wars is without a doubt one of the most successful media franchises of all time. The many films, sequels, cartoons, television series, and video games, have fully cemented their influence on the cultural zeitgeist and our imagination.
Proof of this is the surprising number of memorable quotes that get repeated over and over again by millions of people across the world. You have heard these phrases quoted throughout your life, even if you are not a fan of Star Wars.
“May the Force be with you” was named #8 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes!
However, for every profound or touching quote, there are many more that are cringey and nonsensical.
Today, we are going to walk through the worst Star Wars quotes to have ever dis-graced our ears. These are
The 20 Worst Star Wars Quotes
“I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating, and it gets everywhere.” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
This quote, while seemingly innocent, makes Anakin sound like a petulant man-child. In a movie that is rife with cliches and contrite dialogue, the I-don’t-like-sand quote has gone down as one of the most meme-worthy, cringey moments in cinema history.
“Midi-chlorians are a microscopic life form that resides within all living cells.” – Qui-Gon Jinn, Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.
This quote starts an awkward bit of exposition that explains things nobody asked to have explained. Sometimes less is more, and more is less. By breaking down the “science” behind the force, the writers broke the illusion. For many, this quote marks the moment the mystery died.
“Believe me, I wish I could wish away my feelings.” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
Besides the awkward grammatical structure (double use of the word wish is not a good look), the phrase once again paints Anakin as a self-centered, emotionally immature individual.
“Ani, you’ll always be that little boy I knew on Tatooine.” – Padmé Amidala, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
At first glance, this quote from Attack of the Clones does not seem too bad, especially if you are not familiar with the franchise. However, when you take into consideration that Padmé was 14 when she met Anakin, who was 9 years old at the time, the delivery of the line ends up being very creepy and borderline inappropriate.
“We’re going to win this war not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love.” – Rose Tico, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
This is a perfect example of a movie’s writers trying too hard to come up with profound phrases for their characters to spew. This flowery and inane comment by Rose is neither insightful nor a realistic interpretation of the way war works.
“From my point of view, the Jedi are evil!” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Anakin’s characterization was butchered. This is a perfect example of the writers wanting to delve into philosophical conundrums without fully earning the narrative momentum behind these important questions. Anakin might have had a good point here, but the meaning is lost when the context is lacking.
“I’m haunted by the kiss that you never should have given me.” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
These cringe-inducing, sappy and highly melodramatic quotes don’t seem to end. Just like before, we hear it from the mouth of Anakin Skywalker. The prequel movies did a lot of things wrong, but perhaps their most egregious failure was turning the future Darth Vader into a whiny teenager.
“Somehow Palpatine returned.” – Poe Dameron, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.
What is arguably one of the biggest dramatic turns in the franchise’s history, the unprecedented return of the movie’s most wretched villains was brushed over by Poe when he said this seemingly innocuous phrase.
These three words made evident to audiences around the world that very little thought had gone into structuring the plot for the saga’s highly anticipated conclusion.
“Did You Ever Hear The Tragedy Of Darth Plagueis The Wise?” – Chancellor Palpatine, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Out of context, this is an intriguing bit of worldbuilding and Sith lore. However, within the context of the movie in which it is said, as well as the deadpan delivery of the actor (Ian McDiarmid is typically great), a meme was born.
“Only a Sith deals in absolutes.” Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
This is perhaps one of the most famous quotes to come out of the prequel movies. It certainly deserves a spot on the list of the 20 worst Star Wars quotes because, even though the statement is uttered during one of the pivotal scenes of the entire trilogy, it loses credibility the minute you realize the sentence itself is an absolute statement.
“I killed them. I killed them all. They’re dead. Every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too! They’re like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals! I hate them!” – Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
This is yet another example of the writers’ recurring inability to produce believable dialogue for the saga’s most important character. The resulting scene is a clunky mess, with the main character coming off as a mentally unstable teenager.
“Then love has blinded you?” Padmé Amidala, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
Few film romances have produced more cringe-worthy lines than Padmé and Anakin’s romance. The quote above is the culmination of a saccharine Twilightesque exchange between the two immature lovebirds.
Anakin calls Padmé beautiful, to which Padmé replies “It’s only because I’m so in love,” so Anakin retorts with “No. No, it’s because I’m so in love with you.” Padmé jokes, putting the cherry on top with the “Then love has blinded you?”.
“Now, this is podracing!” Young Anakin, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
Young Anakin could hardly be cuter, but he is responsible for one of the franchise’s cheesiest lines and most obvious attempts at generating a catchphrase. When he yells “Now, this is podracing!” During a pivotal space battle, meme history was changed for the better.
“Mesa called Jar Jar Binks, mesa your humble servant! Jar Jar Binks, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace.
The clumsy, well-meaning Gungan, Jar Jar Binks, is introduced to us in Episode I, and pretty much everything he says after the quote above is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
“This is where the fun begins.” Anakin Skywalker, young Anakin, Star Wars: Episode III The Revenge of the Sith.
This one is very similar to the podracing quote above, except this time it is uttered by a mature Anakin in the middle of a space battle. No, Anakin, this is NOT where the fun begins. In fact, this is exactly the moment that countless lives are lost as pilot after pilot is blown to smithereens.
“Obi? Obi! Mesa So Smilen To Seein Yousa!” Jar Jar Binks, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
More Jar Jar quotes should have ended on this list. But there are so many that the entire list could have easily been taken over by this annoying character.
“Hold me, Annie. Hold me like you did by the lake on Naboo, so long ago when there was nothing but our love. No politics, no plotting, no war.” Padmé Amidala, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.
This mismatched couple is a never-ending source of bad Star Wars quotes. This time its Padmé spewing cringey nonsense.
What do you mean when you say that there was nothing but your love? Really? No politics, no plotting, no war? Because as far as the audience is concerned, the reason you were on Naboo with Anakin is because of political plotting and a looming war!
“I am haunted by the kiss that you never should have given me.” Anakin Skywalker, Star Wars Episode II – Attack of the Clones
What does that even mean, Anakin? You’ve had some doozies, but this one takes the cake.
“Around the survivors a perimeter create.” Yoda, Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones.
This one is terrible because it is a terribly awkward butchering of Yoda’s unique speech pattern. What he should have said is “Create a perimeter around the survivors, we must.”, but the writing in the prequel trilogy was so lazy that the writers couldn’t even be bothered.
“General I have to leave, I can’t stay anymore.” Han Solo, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.
Saying you have to leave is the same thing as saying you can’t stay, so there is no reason for anyone to make both statements in the same freaking sentence.
