Of all the changes George Lucas has made to Star Wars over the years, one edit has enraged fans more than any other, and that’s the introduction of Han Solo. In the original cut, Han blows away the bounty hunter Greedo before he can get a shot in. But over the years, Lucas has tried to soften Han’s ruthless edge by having Greedo shoot first, and miss, much to the consternation of everyone from lawyers to the equally fearsome Ariana Grande. But one person is having none of it, and that’s Greedo himself.
Paul Blake, the man under that green mask, laid it out for the New York Daily News:
…we played in the scene in English and at the end of the scene, it reads, ‘Han shoots the alien.’ It’s all it says and that’s what happened.
Blake goes on to note that Greedo missing from point blank range makes him look less like a badass galactic bounty hunter and more like a guy the Stormtrooper Academy fired from his marksmanship training job. He also thinks getting outwitted by Han Solo is a cooler way to die than being clumsy, which is hard to argue with.
Will we ever officially see Han shoot first again? That remains an open question. Lucas is no longer involved in the day-to-day operations when it comes to Star Wars, and rumor continues to abound that we’ll see the original cuts someday. But, for now, all we can do is pray Greedo’s fate isn’t altered further.
(via New York Daily News)
