Han shot first
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"Han shot first" refers to a controversial
change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...
made to a scene in the film '' Star Wars'' (1977), in which
Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
( Harrison Ford) is confronted by the
bounty hunter A bounty hunter is a private agent working for bail bonds who captures fugitives or criminals for a commission or bounty. The occupation, officially known as bail enforcement agent, or fugitive recovery agent, has traditionally operated outsid ...
Greedo Greedo Tetsu Jr. is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was a Rodian bounty hunter from the Tetsu Clan and worked for gangster Jabba the Hutt. Greedo's Huttese language is based on Quechua, the Inca language. He appe ...
( Paul Blake/Maria De Aragon) in the
Mos Eisley Mos Eisley is a spaceport town in the fictional ''Star Wars'' universe. Located on the planet Tatooine, it first appeared in the 1977 film ''Star Wars'', described by the character Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Alec Guinness) as a "wretched hive of s ...
cantina. In the original version of this scene, Han shoots Greedo dead. Later versions are edited so that Greedo attempts to fire at Han first. Director George Lucas altered the scene to give Solo more justification for acting in self-defense. Many fans and commentators oppose the change, feeling it weakens Solo's
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. The controversy is referenced in the 2018 film '' Solo: A Star Wars Story''.


Scene

Smuggler
Han Solo Han Solo is a fictional character in the '' Star Wars'' franchise created by George Lucas. The character first appeared in the 1977 film '' Star Wars'' portrayed by Harrison Ford, who reprised his role in ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980) an ...
( Harrison Ford) is cornered by bounty hunter
Greedo Greedo Tetsu Jr. is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. He was a Rodian bounty hunter from the Tetsu Clan and worked for gangster Jabba the Hutt. Greedo's Huttese language is based on Quechua, the Inca language. He appe ...
( Paul Blake/Maria De Aragon) in a bar and forced at gunpoint to sit. While they talk about money Solo owes, Solo readies his gun under the table. Greedo tells him he has been "looking forward" to killing Solo for a long time. Solo replies, "Yes, I'll bet you have." The conclusion varies depending on the version of the film being watched. In the original version, the film cuts to a closeup of Greedo's face, followed quickly by flashes of sparks, a cloud of smoke, and the sound of a blaster firing. This is followed by a shot of Greedo from behind, slumping over the table. In the 1997 Special Edition, Greedo shoots first at Solo and misses due to Solo moving his head, and Solo returns fire, killing Greedo. For the 2004 DVD release, the shots are fired at nearly the same time and Solo dodges Greedo's shot. For the 2011
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release, the scene of Solo and Greedo firing at each other was shortened by several frames. The scene was changed again for the version of the film released on
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on November 12, 2019. In this version, using a close-up of footage already used a few seconds before, Greedo says a line transcribed by fans as "maclunkey" or "ma klounkee" ("This'll be the end of you") before shooting at Han. The line may be a threat spoken in
Huttese The Hutts are an alien species in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. They are rotund, voracious and grotesque-looking slug-like creatures with a predisposition to being leaders in organized crime. The most famous Hutt and the first to be depicted was ...
, as it is used that way by
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in ''
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''. Additionally, the reverse shot of Greedo being shot was removed, and new effects were used. The changes were made by Lucas before Disney acquired the franchise in 2012. According to Paul Blake, the scene was created as a result of Lucas having to cut a special effects-heavy scene introducing
Jabba the Hutt Jabba Desilijic Tiure, more commonly known as Jabba the Hutt, is a fictional character and minor antagonist in the ''Star Wars'' franchise. Created by George Lucas, Jabba is voiced by Larry Ward with several puppeteers inside a one-ton puppet po ...
due to budget and schedule concerns. The original version of the Greedo scene has grown to be considered iconic, while the Jabba scene, which was restored for the Special Edition and later releases, is generally regarded as superfluous.


Criticism

The change is one of the most controversial of many alterations made in the 1997 Special Edition of ''Star Wars''. Many fans argued that it alters Han's initially morally ambiguous character, making his later transition from
anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform action ...
to
hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ''actor''), ''her ...
less meaningful. According to ''
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'', "Fans lost their minds. It was an affront, the neutering of a badass." Fans have created fan edits of the original ''Star Wars'' films (such as Harmy's Despecialized Edition) to reverse Lucas' changes, especially the scene with Solo and Greedo. In a 2004 interview, Lucas responded to the criticism, saying, "To me, he original moviedoesn't really exist anymore. ... I'm sorry you saw half a completed film and fell in love with it. But I want it to be the way I want it to be." He acknowledged the controversy by wearing a "Han shot first" T-shirt on the set of ''
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'' (2008). In a 2012 interview with ''
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'', Lucas said: One draft of the original script makes no mention of Greedo shooting at all, only Solo. In 2015, a replica of an early script for ''Star Wars'' was discovered in the archives of the
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library. In the script, dated March 15, 1976, Han shoots first. In a 2015 interview, Lucas said:
Han Solo was going to marry
Leia Princess Leia Organa is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, portrayed in films by Carrie Fisher. Introduced in the Star Wars (film), original ''Star Wars'' film in 1977, Leia is princess of th ...
, and you look back and say, "Should he be a cold-blooded killer?" Because I was thinking mythologically—should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne? And I said, "Yeah, he should be John Wayne." And when you're John Wayne, you don't shoot people
irst An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters. IR ...
€”you let them have the first shot. It's a mythological reality that we hope our society pays attention to.
In 2020's ''The Star Wars Archives: 1999–2005'', Lucas commented, "I never designed Han to be a ruthless killer. All the good guys shoot in self-defense. When I edited the scene in 1977 you couldn't tell who does what." Paul Blake said in a 2016 interview: "Of course, it said it all in the original script, we played in the scene in English and at the end of the scene, it reads, 'Han shoots the alien.' It's all it says and that's what happened. It was very painful." Blake felt that Greedo shooting at and missing Solo at very short range made him appear inept, and that Greedo has more glory if he is "just blown away". One legal expert argued that Greedo's behavior constituted a direct threat and would warrant preemptive action in self-defense in the United States. In 2014, when asked in a
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, Harrison Ford replied, "I don't know and I don't care." On the 2019 addition of a new line of dialogue, Blake said: In the 2018 film '' Solo: A Star Wars Story,'' Han Solo shoots antagonist
Tobias Beckett Tobias Beckett is a fictional character in the ''Star Wars'' franchise, first appearing and portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the 2018 film '' Solo: A Star Wars Story''. He is a thief working for the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate and the mentor of Ha ...
mid-sentence, killing him. Writers
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and Jonathan Kasdan confirmed that this was a deliberate reference, and that the ''Solo'' shooting script specifies: "There can be no question that Han shoots first." In the trailer for '' The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special'', which has multiple characters from different times, an older Han asks the younger Han if he wants to shoot first during an encounter with Greedo. He replies, "After you." Both men open fire simultaneously, before Greedo can react.


Notes


References

{{Star Wars Star Wars fandom Continuity (fiction) Film scenes Star Wars (film) Film controversies 1997 neologisms