Star Wars: The 10 Most Hilarious “A Surprise To Be Sure, But A Welcome One” Memes

It’s been said by Star Wars fans that every line of dialogue in the prequel trilogy can be turned into a meme. Whether or not that’s a castigation against George Lucas’s script or the fact that there’s a wealth of humor to be derived from so many unintentional one-liners, all anyone has to do is look at the popularity of such phrases as, “Hello, there” or “I have the high ground!” to see that they lend themselves to comicality.

Senator Palpatine had several of the best lines in the prequel trilogy, delivered with theatrical aplomb by Ian McDiarmid.  While his “I am the Senate” is infamous for its vile repugnance by the time he was made Chancellor of the Republic, “A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one” is remembered for how deftly he used its conciliatory nature to conceal his political ambition when he was elected. The phrase is now used to convey welcome surprise at just about anything to do with the Star Wars fandom and franchise at large.

10 A Clone Army As A Written Exercise

While almost no one likes word problems, they become exponentially more interesting when fictitious characters are used to present moral quandaries. In this text book that features information on cloning sheep, Jango Fett’s genetic material being used for the basis of a Clone Army is used as a reference.

No doubt General Hux would have the perfect answer for questions a,b, and c with his line of dialogue from Star Wars: The Force Awakens when Kylo Ren suggests the use of clones because stormtroopers are too intellectually independent: “My men are exceptionally trained. Programmed from birth”.

9 When A Lawman Becomes A Bounty Hunter

Hitman star Timothy Olyphant has been making a name for himself playing lawmen the last decade in acclaimed roles on Deadwood and Justified. Recently, fans of The Mandalorian found out he’d be joining the series in a surprising way.

He’ll be hanging up his tin star and gunbelt in exchange for a set of Mandalorian armor – Boba Fett’s to be exact. It’s unclear what he’ll be doing with it, as a peaceful protector or as a bounty hunter, but fans are excited to find out.

8 A Disturbance In The Force

For many Star Wars fans and older purists, the original trilogy is the only trilogy that matters in the franchise. However, some of these diehards are changing their perspective, especially given the release of the divisive sequel trilogy by Disney.

The sequel trilogy has been so misguided in their estimation, that George Lucas’s prequel trilogy – complete with all its flaws and quirks – has emerged in recent years in a much better place in their collective consciousness.

7 Rey’s Dark Side Twist

When fans first saw the trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, they were surprised to see Rey appearing to have fallen to the Dark Side. In a brief scene, she was shown wielding a double bladed lightsaber reminiscent of Darth Maul’s.

Unfortunately, the scene didn’t play out exactly like fans had hoped since it was just a dream. It would still have made Darth Sidious proud, even if it was reduced to a few seconds of footage in a Force vision that Rey had when she was exploring the Death Star’s ruins.

6 Finding Star Wars On Netflix (For Some Reason)

Disney+ has just about everything that’s ever been released by Walt Disney Studios on its streaming platform, but due to other streaming providers still having the rights to some Lucasfilm programming, they have to share their access.

A bit of good news for Star Wars fans and Netflix users is that the beloved Star Wars: The Clone Wars series is still available to stream for the foreseeable future, though when Netflix loses the rights to distribute it, expect to only view it exclusively on Disney+.

5 When A Familiar Face Returns

Hayden Christensen got a lot of grief for his portrayal of a young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. He was criticized for portraying Anakin as a petulant, moody, sullen teenager who seemed incapable of turning into the formidable Darth Vader later in the Skywalker Saga.

In the decades since, the ire towards his performance has softened. This was never more evident than with the reaction towards the news of his possible return to the character in the currently untitled Disney + Obi-Wan Kenobi series, as the announcement was actually well received among fans.

4 When The Force Is Strong With Your Fanbase

Star Wars has had a long tradition of fans scouring its films for details about even the most minute of characters. Ever since the cantina scene from the original Star Wars, their imagination has been captured by even background aliens with no dialogue.

With George Lucas’s prequel trilogy, entire densely populated worlds were introduced, as well as the ranks of the Jedi Order, so fans had an even greater opportunity to obsess over characters that when compared to the breadth of the Skywalker Saga, didn’t get  a significant amount of screen time.

3 Star Wars: Battle Of The Adorable Icons

Two franchises included small, adorable, doe-eyed protagonists at the same time with the release of Pokémon Detective Pikachu and The Mandalorian in 2019. Fans of both decided that only one of their huggable heroes could prove victorious.

To Star Wars fans, it was a no-brainer; there was no way the uncouth Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) could ever overthrow The Child (aka Baby Yoda), though all bets may be off once it finally learns a few words of Basic.

2 When Your Crush Is A Prequel Fan

The Star Wars fandom is very diverse and opinionated, and despite fans loving that galaxy far, far away, they don’t always agree on how it’s presented. Some fans only love the original trilogy, some think the prequel trilogy is underrated, and others are perfectly fine with the sequel trilogy made by Disney.

When Star Wars fans can connect on specific aspects of the prequel trilogy, though, it’s a special occasion because of the amount of derision it’s received over the last two decades after the release of Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. 

1 The Fandom Is Strong With You

When Baby Yoda (aka The Child) first appeared in The Mandalorian, he was almost universally loved, save for the bastion of fans who believed that he’d been created by marketing experts at Disney specifically to sell merchandise.

Whether that was true or not, Baby Yoda could definitely be used to cajole uninitiated viewers into watching not only the series, but everything else in the Star Wars catalog.

About The Author

Kayleena Pierce-Bohen
(1342 Articles Published)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she’s particularly proud of. When she isn’t writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she’s working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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