“Luke, I am Your Father” is a misquotation of a line uttered by the villain Darth Vader in the 1980 science fiction film Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.
Origin
On May 21st, 1980, the second film in the epic space opera series Star Wars was released, featuring a scene in which the antagonist Darth Vader reveals himself as Luke Skywalker’s father in an attempt to manipulate him into betraying his comrades.
Vader: “Obi Wan never told you what happened to your father.”
Luke: “He told me enough! He told me you killed him!”
Vader: “No, I am your father.”
Throughout the 1990s, the line subsequently became a widely used trope in television and film, including parodies in the 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (shown below, left) and the animated children’s movie Toy Story 2 released the same year (shown below, right)...
On May 11th, 2009, The Guardian published an article identifying the line “Luke, I am your father” as a pervasive misquotation.
