The Acolyte, the new Star Wars entry in Disney, has just debuted with two episodes and is already receiving well-deserved accolades. Many iconic dialogues from the movies have become popular, and the show’s creator, Leslye Headland, revealed the difficulty in keeping one such famous line in the premiere.
As per Entertainment Weekly, Headland faced challenges in retaining the classic statement delivered by Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, portrayed by Charlie Barnett, in the premiere episode.
In the second episode, Jedi Knight Yord Fandar, observing from a distance with a pair of macro binoculars, gets to say the one thing we normally anticipate a Star Wars character to say in this situation: “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
The group of heroic Jedi were on a location preparing to cross paths with Amandla Stenberg’s mysterious assassin, Mae. Luke Skywalker famously said the line as they inadvertently approached the Death Star.
It has been mentioned several times in each movie, making it one of the more recognisable dialogues connected to the series. “That was hard to get that in,” Headland told EW.
“I’m going to be honest. I got a lot of feedback that I shouldn’t put that in. But I just feel like when you get the opportunity to do Star Wars, you’re just going to shoot your shot. And ‘I have a bad feeling about this’ is incredibly iconic.”
Headland stated that the issue was more about how to use the phrase correctly than it was about utilising it in general.
It was just the reputation of it being an “iconic line” that prevented them from dropping it.
She continued by emphasising that they ultimately managed to rationalise it, make it seem appropriate and maintain its homage status.
Since The Acolyte takes place in a universe very distinct from anything the live-action Star Wars has yet to explore, it seems sensible to be concerned about leaning too much on fandom.
The Star Wars galaxy is full of amazing lightsaber fights and otherworldly force abilities, but it also boasts a long list of famous quotes that have influenced pop culture.
Certainly one of those is “I have a bad feeling about this”.
“May the force be with you” is another, which is also spoken in The Acolyte’s opening episodes. James Earl Jones’s superb delivery of the famous phrase “No, I am your father” is largely responsible for Empire Strikes Back’s memorable ending.
