Han shot first

The subject of this article concerns a fan topic inStar Warsculture. Events, opinions, and individuals described in this article may not be present in anauthorized source, or may not havecanonically occurred in theStar Wars universe.

Help me,Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope. This article is in need of referencing per Wookieepedia'ssourcing guidelines. This article needs appropriate citations. Help usimprove this article by referencing valid resource material. Remove this notice when finished.

To say "Han shot first" is to refer toGeorge Lucas'changes to theoriginal trilogy. This phrase more specifically refers to a change made to theA New HopeSpecial Edition, in the scene involving the charactersHan Solo andGreedo in the cantina. In the original version, after Greedo says, "I've been looking forward to this moment for a long time," Han replies, "Yes, I bet you have" and shoots Greedo under the table while Greedo is pointing a blaster at him. (Thus, Han didn't merely shoot first; he was the only one who fired.) The change was due to Lucas not wanting Han to come off as a cold-blooded killer, but rather acting in self-defense, with one rumor stating the scene, in its unaltered form, risked giving the entire Special Edition a PG-13 rating, thus limiting the audience for the theatrical run.

In the Special Edition, Greedo shoots at Han and misses, without explanation, from point-blank range, and then Han shoots him. Later, it was altered again to have Han and Greedo shooting at almost the same time (though Greedo still shoots first), with Han dodging out of the way of Greedo's shot.

The scene in various media[]

In the scripts[]

The January 15, 1976 script portrays the scene thus:

HAN
Yes, I'll bet you have.

Suddenly the slimy alien disappears in a blinding flash of light. Han pulls his smoking gun from beneath the table as the other patrons look on in bemused amazement. Han gets up and starts out of the cantina, flipping the bartender some coins as he leaves.

The March 15 version of the script is identical in this scene except thatGreedo is referred to simply as "Alien."

In adaptations[]

In thenovelization, this scene is vague. The book only says that "light and noise filled the little corner of the cantina"; it never specifies who shot first.

Greedo spokeBasic in thesecond issue of Marvel's comic adaptation.Han fired after Greedo threatened to kill him, but before Greedo could finish his next sentence.

In theStar Wars radio drama (1981), Han is the only one who shoots. After the blast is heard, Han says, "Rest in peace, Greedo! I can shoot just as well under a table as across one." This line is reused in the canon novelA New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy^[2]

Star Wars: Behind the Magic[]

One of the deleted scenes included in this CD-ROM is an alternate take of the cantina sequence, including the encounter between Greedo and Han. It is a black-and-white work print that lacks any added music or sound effects. Greedo speaks English with aReceived Pronunciation accent, speaking his original lines as in the 1976 script. Han shoots him before he can fire a shot.

Behind the Magic plays this earlier cantina sequence side by side for comparison with the modified "Special Edition" version of the same scene from 1997, making it clear that Greedo shooting was added later.

In new canon[]

A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy contains the first retelling of this scene released following the decision to discontinue theExpanded Universe in favor of a newcanon continuity. As described in the novel, Solo reaches for his blaster and slides it from the holster under the table as he is telling Greedo that he doesn't have the money with him. When Solo states "Over my dead body!," Greedo draws his own blaster, points it at Han's heart and replies, "That's the idea. I've been looking forward to killing you for a long time." Solo replies, "Yeah. I'll bet you have." The narration then says that "Greedo disappeared in a blinding flash of white light as Han pulled the trigger. The thump as Greedo's body slumped onto the table made the other cantina patrons look over." There is no mention of Greedo having fired a shot.^[3] When asked regarding the matter in an interview slightly before the release of the title, the book's author,Alexandra Bracken, replied "Han, of course!"^[4]

However,Star Wars: The Original Trilogy – A Graphic Novel, a2016 graphic novelization of the films, depicts the scene as it's presented in the 2004 DVD version, with the two characters shooting at approximately the same time and Greedo's shot missing far wide and up.Star Wars: A New Hope Cinestory Comic, a similar title, depicts the scene the same way.

"The Luckless Rodian" is a story from the 40th-anniversary anthologyFrom a Certain Point of View, presenting the events of the scene entirely from Greedo's point of view. Greedo is at no point said to have fired or even considered firing a weapon, and it is said that the last thing he saw was a flash of bright light and his last memory was of bitter injustice. When asked if this depiction made Episode IV's theatrical version thecanonical version of the film, however,Lucasfilm Story Group'sMatt Martin reiterated that the canon one is the revised version, as the nature of book included making various contradictions.^[5]

WhenA New Hope was released inDisney+,The Walt Disney Company's streaming service, onNovember 12,2019, a slight change was added to the scene. While the scene is practically the same from the revised version of 2004, Greedo seems to speak one last word with no current translation before shooting at Han. According toVanity Fair, this change was made by Lucas himself prior to selling his company to Disney.^[6]

George Lucas' reasons[]

As George Lucas stated subsequently over the years, he always intended Greedo to shoot first in the cantina scene. In the original version, he advised to leave the scene ambiguous, therefore the exchange of blaster fire between Han Solo and Greedo was shot in close-ups. However, Lucas didn't like the idea that the first thing Han Solo does in the film is gunning somebody down, becoming a cold-blooded killer, somebody he never wanted the character to be. Wide shots added in later releases of the film served to make the actual results of the encounter more obvious. As he explained, in classic showdowns the hero always fires second, in self defense, and the reading of the scene that Solo shot first, rooted in the audience's desire for Solo to be a killer, presented a bad example for younger viewers.^[7][8][9]

In 2015, librarian Kristian Brown presented an early script of the originalStar Wars movie, claiming that"based on the script, I can tell you 100%, Han shot first." However, according to Lucasfilm Publicity, the script looked to be a "fan-made" replica version of the real early script.^[10]

Repercussions inStar Wars media[]

• Han said that he prefers shooting first, "as opposed to shooting second," in the novelHan Solo at Stars' End, which was published nearly seventeen years before the Special Editions were made.^[11]

• In theShadows of the Empire novel,Wedge Antilles states that the second rule of self-defense is to shoot first and ask questions later.

• In the gameStar Wars: Battlefront II it is possible, while playing as Solo, to hear the enemy troops exclaim, "It's Solo, and he's shooting first—that's not fair!"

• A cutscene inLEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy andLEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga shows a LEGO Greedo slamming his fist on the table, attempting to shoot Han and missing, and Han shooting him, which blows Greedo into LEGO bricks, causing him to fall in a pile of limbs.
  • However, in the DS version ofLEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy, Han distracts Greedo by pointing to a window before shooting him. In the DS version ofLEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Greedo pulls out his gun on Han before being shot by him immediately afterwards.

• At the end of theLEGO Star Wars: Revenge of the Brick mini-movie Greedo can be seen throwing darts in the cantina and, despite standing no more than two feet away, has missed the board with at least five darts, a possible tongue-in-cheek explanation for the unlikeliness of Greedo missing Han.

• Aaron Allston, by way of his novelLegacy of the Force: Betrayal, has chimed in on the subject with a reference of his own. After a gun battle, when queried as to the status of her husband,Leia replies that he is fine. "Han shot first," she glibly explains.

• In the story "A Hunter's Fate: Greedo's Tale" from theTales from the Mos Eisley Cantina anthology, Greedo's perspective is shown to be overconfident to the point that he seems to actually believe Han's words moments before his death, believing that he and Han may actually become friends after they iron out the transaction. Although his death is not shown from his perspective, it is heavily implied that Han shoots first.

• After the assassination ofThrackan Sal-Solo in the novelLegacy of the Force: Bloodlines,Boba Fett remarked that Han should learn to shoot first.

• InLegacy of the Force: Revelation, Jaina tells Fett that if he plans on fighting Han Solo he should "remember to shoot first."

• Greedo appears as a minor character in the board gameStar Wars: Epic Duels. His power attack is a card labeled "Desperate Shot": a decently powerful attack, but if it does not kill the target, then Greedo is immediately killed instead. It is the only card where an attacker's miss is automatically fatal.

• Wizards of the Coast released a scenario for theStar Wars Miniatures game featuring the cantina shootout between Solo and Greedo. It is referentially titled "Who Shoots First?."

• InUnderworld: A Galaxy of Scum and Villainy (Star Wars Insider 89), an in-universe report states that Han "is prone to 'shooting first.'"

• In theStar Wars Tales non-canon spoof "The Emperor's Court," Han Solo is prosecuted in court by Greedo's mother,Neela, who claims that her son was shot first. The case is declared in Neela's favor, and Han is sentenced to be frozen incarbonite and sent toJabba the Hutt.

• InLEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga forXbox 360 andiOS, there is an achievement titled "Shoot First" which is acquired by killing Greedo using any variant of Han Solo.

• InStar Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron, in theOrd Mantell cutscene,Col Serra says that although Han doesn't shoot first when it came to bounty hunters, the rest of the squadron does.

• TheStar Wars: The Old Republic Developer Blog entry"Creating the Smuggler" states, "Jedi may see things before they happen, but Smugglers always shoot first."

• InLEGO Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, when Han shot astormtrooper,C-3PO commented, "Oh, my stars! Han shot first!" to which Han replied, "Of course I did. It was me or him. Why wouldn't I?" C-3PO stated, "That is a matter of some debate."

• In the2012 mobile gameAngry Birds Star Wars, one of the levels takes place on Tatooine. During an introductory slideshow in the Mos Eisly Cantina, Greedo spies on Solo,Chewbacca, Skywalker and Kenobi from a window. Solo then blasts Greedo.^[12]

• In the 2012 gameKinect Star Wars, one of the dance moves that can be performed by Solo, as well asLando Calrissian, during the song "I'm Han Solo" is called "Han Shot First".

• Timothy Zahn's2013 novelScoundrels features a scene very similar to the interaction between Greedo and Han, with another bounty hunter in Greedo's place. Han does not shoot first, and the shot is missed due to intervention from Chewbacca.

• InWilliam Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope, a non-canon retelling of the story of the original film in the style ofWilliam Shakespeare, the stage directions for the play state simply "They shoot, Greedo dies." This is then followed by Solo apologizing to the innkeeper and then stating as an aside: "And whether I shot first, I'll ne'er confess!" The audio edition ofWilliam Shakespeare's The Jedi Doth Return: Star Wars Part the Sixth includes a supposed conversation between Shakespeare and authorIan Doescher in which Shakespeare tells Doescher that he should have stated plainly that Han shot first. When asked about the matter directly for an "About the Author" for the series' official website, Doescher stated, "Han Solo, says me and every other true fan out there."^[13]

• InPhineas and Ferb: Star Wars, a cantina customer states that he wasn't sure who shot first.

• In theMarvel comic issueStar Wars (2015) 13, Han points ablaster rifle atLuke Skywalker's kidnappers, demanding that they release his friend; promptingDoctorAphra to say, "You're not very good at this sort of thing, are you? If you were, you would've shot first and given warnings later."

• The narration of thenovelization ofStar Wars: Episode VIIThe Force Awakens states that whenFinn first observed Han Solo, he worried that Solo might be the type of guy "who shoots first and asks questions later."

• In the 2015 EAStar Wars BattlefrontCompanion mobile gameBase Command, the Han Solo hero unit has the First Strike perk, where he "Fires first in combat."

• InLEGO Star Wars: The Resistance Rises episode "Hunting for Han" one of patrons in Maz Kanata's castle remarks that Han shot Greedo; prompting another to interject that Greedo shot first.^[14]

• In the mobile phone gameStar Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Greedo's unique is called "Who Shot First?" and Han's unique is called "Shoots First."

• In the humor book99 Stormtroopers Join the Empire, a title depicting the unfortunate demises of variousstormtroopers, "One stormtrooper fails to shoot first" and is killed by Greedo.

• At the end of the2018 movieSolo: A Star Wars Story, in a confrontation between Han Solo and Beckett, Han shoots his opponent mid-sentence. Afterwards, Beckett admits that Solo made a "smart choice," as he had been about to shoot and kill him.Lawrence Kasdan who wrote the script of the movie with his sonJon Kasdan said about it that "There can be no question that Han shoots first." Kasdan Sr. thinks that Han indeed shot first as he expressed during an interview withStarWars.com.^[15]

• InThe LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special the time-space portal opens on Tatooine, dumping many characters from many eras on the desert. Among them were Greedo and two versions of Han Solo - old and young. Greedo expressed his bewilderment when he saw them. After that old Han Solo asked the young version of himself: "Do you wanna shoot first?", the young one replied: "After you" and they both shooting Greedo at the same time.^[16]

• In "Decommissioned" and "Battle Scars," two episodes of the animated television seriesStar Wars: The Bad Batch, there is aslot machine calledLucky Shot, with the slogan "Always shoot first" written inAurebesh.

• In the Marvel comic issueHan Solo & Chewbacca 1, Han says to Greedo, "If you try to screw me over, double-cross me, doanything that gives me a bad feeling... I'llshoot first and ask questions later."

• InLEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, the quest which unlocks Greedo, entitled "Ma Klounkee Most Foul", is started by speaking to threeStormtroopers who are investigating the incident, and wanting to know who shot first. The player is required to speak with six witnesses who evenly claim that either Han or Greedo shot first. The Stormtroopers end the quest by stating they think the debate will never be resolved.
  • In the game's version of the scene, Han and Greedo engage in a quickdraw duel while ducking behind the table. Greedo and Han fire until they both run out of ammo, whereupon Han throws his blaster at Greedo's face, causing him to run off. The scene is placed before Han meets with Luke and Ben rather than after.

• In the Marvel comic issueHan Solo & Chewbacca 10, Han shootsCorbus Tyra mid-sentence, albeit in the shoulder; causing him to fall into the river below. Tyra survives the encounter.^[17]

• InThe Mandalorian episode "Chapter 21: The Pirate"Greef Karga while arguing withGorian Shard exclaimed, "He shot first!".

• InLEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy, Greedo and Han are both after the heart ofPrincessLeia Organa, only for Greedo to "shoot his shot" first and end up with the rebel leader instead of Solo.^[18]

Reception[]

A New Hope producerGary Kurtz feels that the change undermined the intention of the scene, which he states was to show how much of a mercenary Han Solo was; he had to shoot Greedo first or lose his life.^[19] The actor of Han Solo,Harrison Ford, replied to the question about who shot first with apathy,^[1] while the actor of Chewbacca,Peter Mayhew, simply responded with "Uughghhhgh uughghhhgh huuguughghg."^[20]

Sources[]

• The Not-So Magnificent Seven onStarWars.com(article) (backup link)
• 7 TopicsStar Wars Fans Love to Debate onStarWars.com(backup link)

Notes and references[]