Star Wars: Han Shot First Scene Changed Again
Maclunkey! Another change to Star Wars: A New Hope means that neither Han or Greedo shot first, but Greedo definitely got in the last word.
Thanks to the constant tweaking of the original Star Wars movies by George Lucas, Han no longer shoots Greedo first in the infamous Mos Eisley cantina scene, but the latest change to A New Hope does confirm that Greedo got the last word. While the launch of Disney+ also marked the debut of The Mandalorian, the first live-action Star Wars series, all the internet seems to be interested in talking about is “Maclunkey.”
Let us explain: Star Wars fans have been obsessed with the debate regarding whether Han or Greedo shot first since Lucas tweaked the scene for the digitally remastered Star Wars Special Editions released in the late ’90s. The original scene from the 1977 movie has Han shoot Greedo under the bar table before the dim-witted bounty hunter can even pull the trigger, adding a rogue-ish quality to the smuggler’s characterization. This is clearly a guy who operates above the law and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.
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Lucas, seemingly deciding this was too dark for the character, changed the scene for the 1997 theatrical re-release of A New Hope so that Greedo shot and missed Han’s head before the smuggler pulled his own trigger under the table. Unsurprisingly, some fans weren’t too happy with the change, especially since Lucas later changed it even further, adding an effect that makes it look like Han moved his head to dodge the blaster bolt before firing.
Well, fans who hated the earlier changes are going to basically cancel their Disney+ subscriptions when they watch the latest tweak to the “Han Shot First” scene. In the new cut of the movie just released on Disney’s on-demand streaming service, neither Han nor Greedo shoot first. Instead, the new version of the scenes has both characters pulling the trigger at about the same time, with a smoke effect replacing the close-up of Han dodging the blaster fire. But before Greedo meets his end, he delivers one final line which was added by Lucas before Disney took over Lucasfilm, according to Vanity Fair. That line is “Maclunkey.”
Watch the scene for yourself:
What does “Maclunkey” mean? No one has any idea. Lucas giving Greedo one final indiscernable word does make it seem like the bounty hunter was insulting Han before the smuggler killed him, further enticing the our favorite scoundrel to shoot down his rival, who clearly learned how to aim from the Imperial academy.
As you can imagine, the jokes started rolling in soon after Maclunkey-gate hit Twitter:
Why did Lucas feel that he had to alter the scene further and what does “Maclunkey” even mean? These are mysteries yet to be solved. Whatever the reason, there’s one positive that’s come out of all of this: Greedo might be gone, but he hasn’t been forgotten.
John Saavedra is an associate editor at Den of Geek. Read more of his work here. Follow him on Twitter @johnsjr9.
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John Saavedra is the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Den of Geek. He lives in New York City with his two cats.