“Hello There” is a quote from Ewan McGregor’s portrayal of Obi-Wan Kenobi in the 2005 prequel film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. In the online community, the scene it originates from has been used in various remix videos and images, in addition to appearing as copious internet comments. The meme is meant to portray surprise met with a dash of mischief, particularly among the internet Star Wars fandom.
Where is the Hello There meme from?
The Hello There meme is from Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, which was released on May 19th, 2005. In context, Obi-Wan Kenobi jumps from several levels above to surprise rival and secondary film villain General Grievous, accompanied by a gleeful “hello there!”
Hello There meme spread
On August 21st, 2007, a remix of the Sith moment appeared on YouTube via user Thereisnospoon303 titled “OBI-WAN SAYS HELLO WHILE I PLAY UNFITTING MUSIC.” The video currently sits at 48k views.
Seven years later, on March 25th, 2014, the moment appeared on Tumblr among several other Obi-Wan GIFS via a post by suzcatonmars. The post has received more than 2,100 notes and is still live here.
Like Obi-Wan himself, Hello There lay low for a few years until January 29th, 2017, when Imgur user Spatzz posted a photoshopped version of Obi-Wan saying the line as part of a “dump of 50 prequel memes.” The post received more than 1,600 points and 96,000 views.
Concurrently, the Hello There phrase and image started to gain prominence on Reddit in /r/PrequelMemes. For instance, a popular photoshopped shitpost involving the moment appeared on February 24th, 2017 via zenthegod.
This led to the meme being used more regularly on the subreddit as time passed. For instance, on July 23rd, 2018, a clip from Star Wars: Clone Wars which recreates the original Hello There scene, but with General Grievous saying the phrase, was edited into a clip from the sitcom Parks and Recreation featuring Ron Swanson (Nick Offerman).
When you rewatch The Clone Wars and realize that Grievous said “Hello there” first
byu/RealShooterMcGavin inPrequelMemes
The following year, as many things do, Hello There found its way to TikTok. On December 4th, 2019, user @chuggernuts uploaded an audio clip from the original Revenge of the Sith scene and reenacted it. The post garnered 28.7k likes in a month.
@jonpaul.jpg prequels>>> #foryou #hitormiss #meme #zeze #pewdiepie #starwars #funny #comedy #joke ♬ Original Sound – Unknown
A couple of weeks later, on December 19th, TikToker @codecosplay uploaded another version of the scene in which two people create a four-arm DIY General Grievous. In its first three weeks, the video garnered 366k likes.
@codecosplay Hello there shot by @mellyjelly13 #hellothere #starwars #generalgrevious #foryou ♬ Original Sound – Unknown
As time went on, the Hello There TikTok remixes and parodies became increasingly abstract. For instance, December 31st, 2019 saw the posting of a video featuring the DIY Grievous brandishing odd items as weapons. That video saw over 312k likes in its first week.
@logan_shaw Lightsaber machine broke #starwars #boys #fyp #obiwan #generalgrievous #hellothere #generalkenobi #riseofskywalker #funny #anime #demonslayer ♬ Original Sound – Unknown
Why does Obi-Wan always say “hello there”?
The short answer as to why McGregor’s Obi-Wan said “hello there” is because Alec Guinness said it in the original Star Wars (or Episode IV: A New Hope). The first line humanity ever heard from Obi-Wan Kenobi was “hello there!”
If you recall, Obi-Wan, in a hooded getup, rescues Luke and R2D2 from Tuscan Raiders on Tatooine. Once Obi-Wan’s successfully defeated the foes, he approaches R2D2, takes off his hood, and utters “hello there” to let the droid know he means no danger. It’s a nice little moment and a great introduction to an iconic character.
In larger Star Wars canon, “hello there” has also been said in The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and Obi-Wan 5, among others. Speaking of which…
What is the reply to ‘hello there’?
As in the original Revenge of the Sith scene, the only appropriate reply to “hello there” online is “General Kenobi!” As a result, you see it pop up in countless comments sections in content featuring “hello there,” whether intentional or not.
For instance, a 2018 Instagram post by Emma Roberts captioned “hello there” proceeded to receive 113,000 comments (with some as recent as the week of this writing) and counting, with pretty much everyone posting “General Kenobi!”
Way to understand the assignment, all.
Ewan McGregor addresses the meme
During a May 24th, 2022 interview promoting his new Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi, McGregor confirmed he was aware of the “meme legacy” phrase. He also mentioned that he’s said it a few times in his everyday life. While McGregor admits he does not enjoy when people request for him to say it on the street, he enjoys the catchphrase on its own.
It’s a good thing that McGregor tolerates the line, because he was written to say it again in 2022’s Disney+ series Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the scene in question, he greets a young child version of Luke Skywalker. Bringing the quote into the 2020s has led to some notable YouTube compilations of all the different versions of “hello there,” notably the below video uploaded by Kakuchopurei on June 22nd, 2022.
Meme examples
