There Is Another
Origin
The line is from Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back, released on May 21, 1980. In the scene, the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi despairs that Luke Skywalker has left his training unfinished — “that boy was our last hope” — and Yoda corrects him with quiet certainty:
“No. There is another.”
In the film it is a genuine plot reveal, setting up a twist the audience would not resolve until the following instalment. As a meme, it is used for revelations of considerably lower stakes.
What it means / how it’s used
The format announces an overlooked alternative. The setup presents something as final, exhausted, or the last of its kind; Yoda’s reply reveals that a backup exists.
Its most common structures:
- One irritation ending, and another taking its place.
- A problem apparently solved, with a successor waiting.
- A list the poster thought was complete.
- Genuinely useful alternatives, presented with unearned drama.
The comedy comes from Yoda’s tone. He delivers the line as a matter of cosmic significance, which makes it funniest when applied to something trivial — a second advertisement, another form to fill in, one more chore.
How it spread
The line had been quotable for four decades before it consolidated as a format. That happened in September 2019, and it happened fast.
On September 27, 2019, an image macro built on the line took over 48,000 points. The following day, September 28, 2019, a version about online advertising took 35,000+ points within two days, and by September 30, 2019 a third variation had taken 65,000+ points. Three viral posts in four days established the template.
That compressed timeline is characteristic of formats built on very widely known quotes. There is no learning curve — everyone already knows the line and the delivery — so once one person demonstrates the joke, the rest of the internet can produce their own version immediately.
Notable examples & variations
- “One down, and another appears” constructions.
- Versions applied to advertising, notifications, and bureaucracy.
- Fandom uses revealing an alternative character or option.
- Extended versions where several “others” appear in sequence.
- Text-only quotation, which remains very common.
Legacy / cultural impact
The Empire Strikes Back has supplied the internet with a remarkable number of quotables, and Yoda specifically is one of the most-memed characters in film — helped by inverted syntax that is instantly recognisable in text alone.
This format persists because it names something genuinely common: the discovery that finishing one thing has simply revealed the next one. A puppet delivering that news with the gravity of a prophecy turns out to be the correct emotional register for it.
Examples & gallery
Frequently asked
What movie is "No, there is another" from?
Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Yoda says it to Obi-Wan Kenobi after Obi-Wan calls Luke their last hope.
How is the meme used?
To reveal an overlooked alternative — something presented as final turns out to have a successor waiting.
When did it become a meme format?
September 2019. Three viral posts between September 27 and 30 took 48,000, 35,000, and 65,000 points respectively and established the template.
Why did it spread so fast?
The quote is universally known, so there was no learning curve — once one person demonstrated the joke, everyone could make their own.
Sources
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