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han-solo-cantina

So, lemme set the scene:

My husband and I are at Disneyland, and he is wearing his “Han Shot First” shirt.

A man appears to be listening to our conversation. I notice him looking at my husband a lot. At first, I wonder if he possibly recognizes him or something.

But then, the man says, “Hey, I need to say something about your shirt.”

“Oh, okay,” my husband says politely. “Let’s hear it.”

“Han didn’t shoot first. Han was the only one who shot!”

And then the conversation (which pretty much every Star Wars fan has had at one time or another) about the Greedo/Han shooting that went down in the Mos Eisley Cantina, began.

For those of you who don’t know, in the original film, Star Wars: A New Hope, Han, flat out, shoots Greedo. No question.

However, in the Special Edition release (which is currently the only version of the film on DVD, Blu-ray, and Digital HD), Greedo shoots at Han first. Only at that point, does Han shoot and kill Greedo.

This change did NOT go over well with fans.

Many fans feel that the change took a lot away from the introduction of Han’s character. This Cantina scene is where we first meet Han and he’s a badass smuggler who does what he has to do.

So the change seemed to betray what fans understood about him and most fans reject the modified scene in which Greedo shoots first.

Now, let’s get down to business:

In an interview with the Washington Post, Star Wars creator George Lucas, discussed his career. He also talked about this, now infamous, scene between Han and Greedo:

“Han Solo was going to marry Leia, and you look back and say, ‘Should he be a cold-blooded killer?’ Because I was thinking mythologically — should he be a cowboy, should he be John Wayne?” Lucas said to the Post. “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.”

Daaaaaannnnggggg…

That gives us a lot to think about, right?!

What do you all think? Does his explanation change anything for you?

 

(Source: ComicBook)

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Katherine Sangiorgio

Katherine is a proud UCLA grad turned freelance writer who enjoys writing about love, life, feminism, positive body image, and all things nerdy, shiny, and/or polka-dotted.
She loves to spend her free time kickin’ it with her crazy-awesome husband and their cat, Joey Tribbiani.
You can catch up with Katherine on Facebook at facebook.com/katherinesangiorgio, on IG at @SassyKatieSang, and on Twitter as @KathSangiorgio

2 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I still don’t like it.
    Plus, come on, how could Greedo miss from across a table?? It just doesn’t make sense. Like, even I could hit a target from that range. And Greedo is a bounty hunter for goodness sake. Not a Stormtrooper

  • The explanation totally doesn’t change anything.

    The point about Han shooting first (or being the only one who shoots) is that we don’t know if he’s John Wayne or not. Or rather, he ISN’T John Wayne… here… or now. That is a journey he undertakes, a growth in character. He isn’t this good guy just waiting for a cause to come along. He’s this shady maybe-good-maybe-not guy that is changed BY the cause. If you want to talk metaphores he is literally born again in the beginning of Return of the Jedi. Making him good from the beginning detracts from his journey and growth as a character.