It’s no secret that “the Force” is an important element of the Star Wars movies. Back in 1977, Obi-Wan famously told a young Luke “it surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” Word of the Force certainly didn’t stop there and certainly binds the franchise together given how many times it’s been mentioned in all the movies. Check out just many times it’s said below:
Wow, that got a bit intense! While it’s not surprising the Force is a habitual phrase in Star Wars, I certainly wasn’t expecting the whopping 161 mentions throughout the franchise. The Star Wars By The Numbers episode has numerous characters from nearly all the movies taking turn uttering the words, so much so that it’s almost exhausting.
Some of the times when “the Force” was mentioned are certainly some of the most iconic moments in the franchise and often empowered the Star Wars characters at their most trying times. As the almost 3-minute video chugs along with every “Force” reference to date, it starts to become both hilarious and ridiculous about just how much it’s said!
At the end of the video, it actually breaks down how much each movie mentions the mystical energy field with a pie chart. Rogue One is unquestionably the franchise’s first-line offender since it’s said 46 times, which takes up over a third of the overall mentions. This is due to Donnie Yen’s Chirrut Îmwe frequent saying "I am one with the Force and the Force is with me," which he tirelessly repeats throughout the film.
Second up is A New Hope with 22 mentions, which makes a lot of sense because the movie introduced to concept to audiences for the first time, along with the world as a whole. Revenge of the Sith comes in third with 20 mentions as Anakin makes his transition to Darth Vader in the final prequel installment.
Attack of the Clones says it the least… wait, can the quality of a Star Wars film be measured by the amount of “Force” talk alone? One film notably missing from the video is Solo: A Star Wars Story. It looks like the recent spinoff doesn’t mention the Force at all!
This count of 161 certainly won’t be the last we see of “the Force” with Star Wars: Episode IX soon on the way. The J.J. Abrams film that recently wrapped filming ahead of its December 2019 release will close out the Skywalker Saga and presumably conclude the stories of new characters Rey, Finn, Poe and Kylo Ren.
There is also a Rogue One spinoff series starring Diego Luna’s Cassian Andor coming from Disney’s new streaming service Disney+ and a new trilogy coming from Rian Johnson. The Force is certainly strong with the Star Wars franchise, and may the Force be with you. Force. Force. Force!
