Hello there

The initial instance of the phrase within Star Wars canon occurs in the 1977 motion picture Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope. In the movie, Ben Kenobi uses the phrase to greet R2-D2 after he saves Luke Skywalker from Tusken Raiders. It is next spoken in the film's prequel, Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan Kenobi surprises General Grievous during the Battle of Utapau scene by saying the phrase. It was at this point that the phrase's popularity soared, which led to its use as a well-known running gag and internet meme.

In the prequel-era television show Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the phrase is spoken by multiple characters at various times. Grievous announces his arrival to fight Obi-Wan Kenobi with the phrase in "Destroy Malevolence," which mirrors the original scene from Revenge of the Sith. During the Senate hostage crisis in "Hostage Crisis," the bounty hunter Cad Bane says it to Padmé Amidala, and he later repeats it to a Naboo dockworker in "Crisis on Naboo." Prior to "Crisis on Naboo," in the episode "Hunt for Ziro," Ziro Desilijic Tiure also says "hello there" to Mama the Hutt. The uncompleted, yet canonical, episode "Crystal Crisis" contains the final instance in The Clone Wars. Obi-Wan uses the phrase to greet an Amani whom he tries to mind trick during the episode.

The phrase is also used frequently in the television program Star Wars Rebels. Lando Calrissian says it to Hera Syndulla as a greeting in the special Star Wars Rebels: The Siege of Lothal. In "Brothers of the Broken Horn," Hondo Ohnaka also uses the phrase when introducing himself to Ezra Bridger, while in "Legacy," the Seventh Sister uses it to reveal her presence to Bridger. In "Crawler Commandeers," Bridger says it to Seevor, marking its last appearance in Rebels.

In the episode "Cornered" of the series Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Omega speaks the line.

In the episode "Wookiee" of the webseries Star Wars Galactic Pals, M1-RE uses the phrase.

The Disney+ limited television series Obi-Wan Kenobi only used the phrase once. In the series' last episode, "Part VI," Obi-Wan says it to Luke when they first meet.

Lys Solay says the line in the episodes "Forest Defenders" and "Bad Eggs" of the series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures.

The 2017 video game Star Wars Battlefront II also contains the phrase. Both Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous have the option of using "Hello there" as a voice line and an emote. The trailer for the game's update based on Star Wars: Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker and its Celebration Edition also makes reference to the Revenge of the Sith scene that made the phrase famous.

Dennis Brännvall also uses the phrase in every Community Update video showcasing upcoming Battlefront II content.

In Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Doma Dendra occasionally greets Cal Kestis with "Hello there." Other characters in the game occasionally use the greeting as well. During a confrontation with Rayvis, the character says to Kestis: "You are a bold one," which was General Grievous' response to Obi-Wan's "Hello there" entrance in Revenge of the Sith.

Comics are one example of expanded media that have used the phrase. Obi-Wan Kenobi says it to raiders in Age of Republic - Obi-Wan Kenobi 1. In Obi-Wan 5, Kenobi said it once more to the stormtrooper JM-909.

Lando Calrissian begins a conversation with Dusque Mistflier in the 2003 novel Star Wars Galaxies: The Ruins of Dantooine by saying, "Well, hello there." In the 2022 young-adult novel Padawan, Kenobi once more said the phrase to Audj Seedol on Lenahra. Michael Siglain, the Director of Creative Franchise for Disney–Lucasfilm Press, begins his introduction to the 2023 anthology novel The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life with the phrase "Hello there." While aboard the transport Regal Zephyr in the 2024 novel The Living Force, Kenobi greets the disguised Houk criminal Ghor with the phrase. He uses the greeting once again to Ghor and his allies Wungo and "The Lobber" during the attack on the Riftwalker Headquarters on Valboraan. During the Defense of Kwenn, Kenobi begins to say it to the trio one final time, but the Lobber cuts him off.

From issue 214 forward, "A Message from the Editor," a recurring section in the Star Wars Insider magazine, started its introductions with "Hello There!"

The Hello There Squad Pack is the name of an expansion for the tabletop game Star Wars: Shatterpoint that includes figurines of Obi-Wan Kenobi, Commander Cody, and the 212th Attack Battalion. June 2, 2023 saw the release of both the core set and the expansion. A card in the pack that lists Kenobi's stats also has an ability called "Hello There!"

In non-canon media, "Hello there" has been used extensively. It is used frequently in The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special, including in a scene where three Obi-Wan Kenobi versions from various eras greet one another before engaging the dark side forces in combat. Kenobi repeats it in LEGO Star Wars Summer Vacation when he first addresses Finn as a Force spirit. In "Part Two," the second episode of the limited series LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, Darth Rey and several Gial Ackbar clones greet Sig Greebling, Bobarian Afol, and Yesi Scala with "Hello there."

The phrase is also used frequently in the video game LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga. The movie's original scene is directly adapted in the Revenge of the Sith scene. Following the battle with Tusken Raiders, a condensed version of its usage in A New Hope is also shown. Furthermore, both the younger and older iterations of Obi-Wan can use the phrase as an idle quote, with the younger version having two different versions of the phrase available. Old "Ben" Kenobi also uses it in another idle quote, which also includes the phrase "Don't be afraid."

Characters from the Star Wars-themed update in LEGO Fortnite Odyssey can greet the player with "Hello there" as one of their options.

A Sith Snapshot on StarWars.com with the title "Hello There" was posted on June 29, 2005. It featured a picture of Kenobi and explained how McGregor brought the character closer to Guinness's portrayal of the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. A clip of the Revenge of the Sith scene was also uploaded to StarWars.com with the title "Hello There". The phrase is also used in the titles of a number of other articles on the website, including announcements for Star Wars: Obi-Wan, a figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi from Sideshow Collectibles, an Obi-Wan-themed cupcake recipe, the documentary Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return, and the addition of Revenge of the Sith-era Obi-Wan to Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes.

Both the official Star Wars (@StarWars) and Electronic Arts Star Wars (@EAStarWars) Twitter accounts have tweeted or mentioned the phrase numerous times. As part of the Star Wars: The High Republic media initiative, the phrase was used as the greeting on a letter promoting the upcoming novel The High Republic: Midnight Horizon. Ewan McGregor uttered the line immediately after taking the stage at the Lucasfilm Ltd. Studio Showcase during Celebration Anaheim in 2022. Robin Roberts, an anchor from Good Morning America, and McGregor also quoted the line at the beginning of their interview. In "Star-studded spin-off of The Traitors | Red Nose Day 2023 - BBC," a comedy sketch for the charity Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2023 event on March 20, 2023 that was created by the BBC, Ewan McGregor played Obi-Wan Kenobi and introduced himself with the line "Hello there."

Ewan McGregor mentioned in an interview that Alec Guinness first spoke the line in A New Hope and that he attributed its popularity to its initial use in that movie. He also admitted that he "almost" forgot he had said the line and that people frequently ask him to say it.

• Hello There on StarWars.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
• " Classic Moment " — Star Wars Insider 130
• Hello There on StarWars.com (backup link)
• The Star Wars Show: We Brushed Kylo Ren's Hair at San Diego Comic-Con on the official Star Wars YouTube channel (July 24, 2019) (backup link)
• Star Wars Is on TikTok! on StarWars.com (February 15, 2023) (backup link)
• Star Wars: Shatterpoint — Hello There Squad Pack
• Phantom at 25 | These 25 Quotes from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Are So Wizard on StarWars.com (backup link)