The Star Wars franchise has entertained fans for almost four decades, not only because the films are so action packed but also because they have inspired countless debates. Luke or Han Solo? R2-D2 or C-3PO? To watch the prequels or not to watch the prequels?
However, there's one debate Star Wars fans have more fervently argued about than any other: Who shot first, Han Solo or Greedo?
This debate comes from the iconic scene in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope when Greedo tracks down Han at the Mos Eisley Cantina. Greedo is a Rodian bounty hunter sent by Jabba the Hutt to capture Han, who owes the crime lord money. In the original 1977 release, Han stealthily removes his gun from its holster, and just when Greedo is getting ready to pop a cap in Han's head, Han shoots him dead first. However, in the 1997 re-release, director George Lucas altered the scene so that Greedo would shoot first and miss, then have Han shoot him as an act of self-defense.
Lucas told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012 that Greedo was in fact the one who shot first, as the updated, clarified scene in the film's re-release shows. Of course, that hasn't prevented this debate from continuing to rage on.
However, a recent discovery in a Canadian library may finally settle this debate once and for all. A copy of an original Star Wars script with a revision date of March 15, 1976 was unearthed in the University of New Brunswick's library in Saint John, Canada, and it seems to show that Han was originally supposed to shoot first.
"Based on the script, I can tell you 100 per cent, Han shot first," librarian Kristian Brown told CBC News.
So there you have it. Han did in fact shoot Greedo first. Probably. This script, at first thought to be original, actually turned out to be something of a "fan-made" replica version like the ones sold at conventions. So who knows if this is really what Lucas initially envisioned for the character, or if it was just a fan wanting to portray Han as a "cold-blooded killer," as many fans do in regards to this scene, Lucas told The Hollywood Reporter.
Maybe we would sleep better at night if we all felt a little more like Harrison Ford did when he answered a fan's question about the debate during a Reddit AMA last year: "I don't know and I don't care."
[H/T ComicBookMovie.com]
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