Credits Will Do Fine

About

"Credits Will Do Fine" is a quote from the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. It is frequently referenced as a Prequel Meme and has been considered either a major plot hole or lore-building plot point with conflicting viewpoints. As with many Prequel Memes, this line is used both as a standalone catchphrase and in image macros as a reaction.

Origin

In the film, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) is looking to purchase a T-14 hyperdrive for his spaceship from the junk dealer Watto (Andy Secombe). Qui-Gon, however, only carries Republic Credits as money, a currency Watto doesn't accept. So Qui-Gon attempts a "Jedi mind trick" on Watto, aiming to psychologically influence him into accepting Republic Credits. The trick fails since Watto is a Toydarian and is immune to the technique. This scene was uploaded by YouTuber^[1] OGSIAN on April 17th, 2015, and received 302,000 views in six years (shown below).

Watto: "A T-14 hyperdrive generator? Thee in luck. I'm the only one hereabouts who has one. But thee might as well buy a new ship. It would be cheaper, I think, huh? Saying of which… how's thee gonna pay for all this, huh?"
Qui-Gon: "I have 20,000 Republic dataries."
Watto: "Republic credits? Republic credits are no good out here. I need something more real."
Qui-Gon: "I don't have anything else, but (waves hand) credits will do fine."
Watto: "No, they won't."
Qui-Gon: "(waves hand) Credits will do fine."
Watto: "No, they won't! What, you think you're some kind of Jedi, waving your hand around like that? I'm a Toydarian. Mind tricks don't work on me. Only money. No money, no parts, no deal."

Spread

The scene itself has a bit of controversy to it. Some question why Qui-Gon simply doesn't go somewhere else that might accept credits or even mind trick a different person into exchanging them. Naturally, when a question is presented, an answer is given, which was done with the meme posted to /r/PrequelMemes^[2] on April 12th, 2020, by Redditor u/bluewords. The meme explores a theory explaining why Watto refuses credits and that Qui-Gon is morally wrong for attempting the mind trick, receiving 32,800 upvotes in six months (shown below).

As with many Prequel Memes, the line itself is not merely a meme within the context of the scene, but instead is used as a reference in other popular meme examples. This is seen in the meme posted by Redditor^[3] u/akroman01 on April 11th, 2021, that received 1,300 upvotes in one month, which uses the Trade Offer format to reference the exchange Qui-Gon tried to initiate (shown below).

Various Examples

Search interest

External References