Disney+ Shocks ‘Star Wars’ Fans With George Lucas’ New ‘Han Shot First’ Edit
While Disney+ launched with the world premiere of the first live-action “Star Wars” television series, “The Mandalorian,” the service also went live with nearly every “Star Wars” movie ready to stream. Included on the streaming platform is George Lucas’ 1977 original “Star Wars: A New Hope,” albeit with one controversial new tweak. The infamous “Han shot first” scene has been reedited yet again so that this time Greedo has the last word before he dies by Han Solo’s gunshot.
The scene as originally depicted in the “Star Wars” theatrical cut featured Han shooting Greedo unprompted. The moment introduced Han as a hotshot character who is both calm and deadly, but Lucas admitted later he was not a fan of the altercation. Lucas reedited the moment for the 1997 special edition of “A New Hope” so that Greedo fired first, prompting Han to shoot Greedo out of self defense. Lucas would go on to edit the scene yet again at a later date so Han and Greedo fired at the same time.
With the launch of Disney+, “Star Wars: A New Hope” is now streaming with a new iteration of the Han-Greedo moment. This time the Rodian bounty hunter is heard saying a word before the two characters blast each other at the same time. The word is not subtitled when closed captioning is on, but fans have pointed out it sounds like “Maclunkey.” Lucasfilm confirms to Vanity Fair the new “Han shot first” change came directly from Lucas himself. The edit was even a change Lucas made prior to Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012.
Getting Greedo to have the last word brings the scene back to Han acting out of self-defense, as opposed to the two characters firing at each other at the same time. While fans do not know the meaning of “Maclunkey” or whatever Greedo says, it’s implied that the word is the inciting factor in getting the two characters to draw their weapons. As always, the moment ends with Greedo’s blast hitting a wall and Han’s blast hitting its bullseye. All of the Lucas-directed “Star Wars” movies are now streaming on Disney+, plus additional content from the franchise as well.