The line comes from the 1983 film Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, where Admiral Ackbar, voiced by Erik Bauersfeld, warns the Rebel fleet during the attack on the second Death Star. The scene became one of the most quoted moments in the film, and in the early 2000s the phrase spread widely online as a reaction image and sound clip. Its simple warning fits almost any ambush, trick or bad choice, keeping it in constant use decades later.