diff --git a/.templates/00-global_var.sh b/.templates/00-global_var.sh
index 56f1caa31..cd0f9d45d 100755
--- a/.templates/00-global_var.sh
+++ b/.templates/00-global_var.sh
@@ -29,21 +29,18 @@ mapfile -t arr < <(jq -r 'keys[]' "${JSONSOURCE}")
 
 # Escape special characters using printf and enclose in double quotes
 sanitize_variable() {
-    local raw="$1" # original value
-    local escaped  # value after printf %q
-    # Check if the value is an array
+    local raw="$1"
+    local escaped
     if [[ "$raw" == \[* ]]; then
         echo "One of your options is an array, skipping"
         return
     fi
     printf -v escaped '%q' "$raw"
-    # If nothing changed, return the original.
     if [[ "$raw" == "$escaped" ]]; then
         printf '%s' "$raw"
-        return
+    else
+        printf '%s' "$escaped"
     fi
-    # Otherwise protect the escaped string with double quotes.
-    printf '"%s"' "$escaped"
 }
 
 for KEYS in "${arr[@]}"; do