Liam Neeson Stole A Historic Star Wars Moment Out From Under Samuel L. Jackson
Liam Neeson may have famously played a man who had his daughter stolen from him back in 2008, but nearly a decade earlier he committed a far more serious theft himself: He stole an iconic line from poor Samuel L. Jackson.
Jackson's tenure in the "Star Wars" prequel trilogy is famous for his many fun requests for his character, like his purple lightsaber. "We had this big arena, this fight scene with all these Jedi," he explained on The Graham Norton Show, "And I was like, well s**t, I wanna be able to find myself in this big ol' scene. So I said to George, 'You think maybe I can get a purple lightsaber?'" One of Jackson's other hopes for his character, which was admittedly far less important, was that he'd get to be the first one in the movie to say that line, "May the force be with you."
"To see it on the page when I first got those script pages it was like, 'Oh man, I get to say the line.' And then it got to be, 'It's the first movie. I wonder if I'm the first person to ever say 'May the Force be with you?”" Jackson explained to Star Wars Insider in 1999. Although realistically, it seemed like the phrase had been around in this universe for generations already, it was still fun to imagine that Mace Windu coined the phrase. It was an interpretation that was technically valid, just so long as no other character said the line first. But as Jackson lamented: "And then I watched the film for the first time last night and Liam said it before I did. So I was like, 'Damn!' [Laughs]"
A line with oft-mistaken origins
But even in the original trilogy, there's been some confusion over who exactly said the line first. Casual fans often attribute the line to Obi-Wan, but the words were actually first uttered by General Dodonna (Alex McCrindle), who used it to wish the rebels good luck as they prepared to attack the Death Star. When Obi-Wan supposedly uttered the words, what he really said was, "Remember, the force will be with you ... always."
Of course, the "Star Wars" franchise is one that's filled with quotes that tend to be slightly misremembered by the public consciousness. As someone who only watched the original trilogy after years of hearing the movies quoted and referenced, I was surprised when Darth Vader told Luke, "No, I am your father." 90% of the time beforehand, I'd heard the line quoted as, "Luke, I am your father." The meaning is the same, but the inflection's different enough that I'm surprised the misquote doesn't annoy people more often. It's the most important line in the whole franchise and it's only five words long — how'd everyone get it wrong?
Admittedly, the reasoning behind the misquote is understandable: "No, I am your father" isn't that unique a sentence, whereas the addition of "Luke" makes it instantly clear what movie it's coming from. The misconception behind the line is often listed as an example of The Mandela Effect, and it also serves as a good argument for why Samuel L. Jackson shouldn't be too concerned about Neeson stealing his thunder in "The Phantom Menace." Mace Windu may not have been the first guy chronologically to say, "May the force be with you," but if the past is any indication, there's still a chance he'll get the credit for it anyway.