Skip to content

starwars.run

Ask

Article

Han shot first

Canon Linked from 5 articles

To say "Han shot first" is to refer to George Lucas' changes to the original trilogy. This phrase more specifically refers to a change made to the A New Hope Special Edition, in the scene involving the characters Han Solo and Greedo 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.

Text and facts from the “Han shot first” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.

Linked from

The best-known articles that mention Han shot first.