Oscar Isaac Just Explained the Most Mocked Line in Star Wars History

B MundSat, April 25, 2026 at 6:41 PM UTC

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Seven years is a long time to carry a meme. Oscar Isaac has been doing exactly that since 2019, when his character Poe Dameron delivered what became what may be the most lampooned line in modern Star Wars history: 'Somehow, Palpatine returned.' Fifteen minutes into The Rise of Skywalker, delivered with an almost theatrical exasperation, and the internet has never let it go.

Now Isaac has finally explained where it came from, and the answer is exactly as turbulent as fans suspected.

Appearing on Josh Horowitz's Happy, Sad, Confused podcast in April 2026, Isaac revealed that the line was a late addition to the film, added during reshoots after principal photography had already wrapped. 'Those were reshoots. We had to do reshoots. Those are like surgical strikes where you come in and they're scrambling, trying to get everything done. That line was a new addition right at the end. There was a lot of movement and flux throughout the whole process.'

He also offered a detail that tells you something about just how rushed the moment was. By the time the reshoots were scheduled, Isaac had already cut his hair and moved on to other projects, meaning he had to wear a wig for the scene. His assessment of that wig, delivered with characteristic deadpan, was that it was 'pretty good.' (Your mileage may vary). Watch below.

Did he have any sense that the line would follow him forever? 'Had you asked me if, at that moment, I thought that was going to be a viral line, I wouldn't have known. I mean, I committed to the exasperation, that's for sure,' he said.

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Isaac is back in the spotlight thanks to BeefSeason 2, currently streaming on Netflix, which has given the press a fresh occasion to revisit his Star Wars chapter. He reflected warmly on the making of The Force Awakens while being plainly honest about how chaotic the third film's production became.

He also noted, with some curiosity, that Palpatine's return was first announced not in the film itself but during a sponsored Fortnite event, a detail that has never quite stopped being strange.

There was one more thing Horowitz asked about, whether Poe Dameron might ever return to the galaxy far, far away. Isaac left the door open, responding with a tentative 'Maybe?' and adding, in Spanish, something roughly translating to 'God willing,' Though he did made clear there's no known project in the works and that this is not him teasing a secret cameo.

So maybe, just maybe...somehow Poe will return.

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This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”