Han shot first

Director George Lucas altered the scene to give Solo more justification for acting in self-defense.

The smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is cornered by the bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake/Maria De Aragon) in a cantina and forced at gunpoint to sit.

[1] In the original version, the film cuts to a shot of Greedo, followed quickly by flashes of sparks, a cloud of smoke, and the sound of a blaster firing.

In this version, using a close-up shot already used a few seconds before,[4] Greedo says a line transcribed by fans as "maclunkey" or "ma klounkee" ("This'll be the end of you") before shooting at Han.

[1][14] Many fans argued that it alters Han's initially morally ambiguous character,[15] making his later transition from antihero to hero less meaningful.

[2][17] In a 2004 interview, Lucas responded to the criticism, saying, "To me, [the original movie] doesn't really exist anymore.

"[18] He acknowledged the controversy by wearing a "Han shot first" T-shirt on the set of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008).

[19] In a 2012 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lucas said: The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn't.

[21][better source needed] In 2015, a replica of an early script for Star Wars was discovered in the archives of the University of New Brunswick library.

[22] In a 2015 interview, Lucas said:Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, "Should he be a cold-blooded killer?"

[24]In 2020's The Star Wars Archives: 1999–2005, Lucas commented, "I never designed Han to be a ruthless killer.

[26] In 2015, legal expert John P. Gross argued that Greedo's behavior constituted a direct threat and would warrant preemptive action in self-defense under U.S.

"[29][31] In The Lego Star Wars Holiday Special (2020), which features characters from different time periods brought together through time travel, an older Han from The Force Awakens asks the younger Han from A New Hope if he wants to shoot first during an encounter with Greedo.