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ENTERTAIN THIS

George Lucas explains why Han Solo did NOT shoot first

Carly Mallenbaum
USA TODAY

It's a question that's become subject of many Star Wars debates:

Who shot first, Han Solo or Greedo?

If you're unfamiliar, the query is about whether Harrison Ford's Han, who we meet in a cantina in the 1977 movie, did, in fact, shoot at bounty hunter Greedo first. Or, did Greedo shoot first, and smuggler Solo (who would go on to become a hero and worthy of Princess Leia's affections) only shoot back in defense?

The answer to the question in the original Star Wars is Yes, Han Solo shot first. In later versions of the movie, however, the scene was edited to show Greedo shooting a split-second before Han. (Coincidentally, we just watched the Amazon digital version of A New Hope on a plane today, replayed that scene several times, and couldn't actually tell who shot first.)

Star Wars director George Lucas, himself, has finally explained why he made the first-shot change in an interview with Washington Post:

“Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, ‘Should he be a cold-blooded killer?’... should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne? And I said, ‘Yeah, he should be John Wayne.’ And when you’re John Wayne, you don’t shoot people [first] — you let them have the first shot. It’s a mythological reality that we hope our society pays attention to.”

So, in order for Han Solo to "be John Wayne," he could not have shot first. 

Eh?

Let the debate rage on!

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