Even Mark Hamill Agrees That Han Shot First in Star Wars

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Even Mark Hamill agrees that Han shot first in Star Wars. The scene that set off countless fan questions occurred in Star Wars: A New Hope, when resident smuggler and scoundrel Han Solo is confronted by Greedo the bounty hunter. What happens next has been up for debate since the movie's premiere in 1977. Han Solo's encounter with Greedo was really part two of his introduction to fans when A New Hope originally premiered.

Did Han shoot first? Han is intercepted by Greedo at gunpoint after he had agreed to transport Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke to Alderaan on the Millennium Falcon. Han is wanted by notorious crime boss Jabba the Hutt and Greedo wants to collect the reward for Han. When it's clear Han can't bribe Greedo to let him go, he slowly reaches for his gun underneath the table. In a bang and a flash, Greedo is shot dead. Han tosses a coin to the barkeep, apologizes for the mess, and casually walks out of the cantina without a second thought. The original cut of A New Hope proves that Han is a smuggler and a scoundrel, unafraid to shoot first. That all changed when Star Wars creator George Lucas made a controversial change to the scene in the 1997 Star Wars special edition.

Lucas altered the scene to make it look like Greedo shot first, misses Han, and then Han fires back. This change ignited the great Star Wars debate. Did Han shoot first? Mark Hamill made his opinion on the matter clear in a series of tweets. Check out Hamill's thoughts on the great Star Wars fan debate below.

https://twitter.com/i/status/1330259775746166784

It's great that Hamill revealed how he felt about the Han question. Who would know better than Luke Skywalker himself? Many fans agree with Hamill. The reason why the scene change is so unpopular is that it felt like an unnecessary change to Han's character. After all, Princess Leia herself christened Han a scoundrel, and she was right. Han's first shot at Greedo in the original cut of A New Hope is a classic, self-serving scoundrel move. (Although it could be argued it was warranted because Greedo held him at gunpoint initially.) Lucas really made the right move initially with Han shooting first. It's a classic character-defining moment for Han Solo that didn't need to be fixed.

The great thing about Star Wars is the fact it has characters that fans continue to feel passionate about decades after A New Hope first came out. After all, nobody would care if Han shot first if Han wasn't a great character. Although Mark Hamill and many fans agree that Han shot first, the iconic question will likely be debated for decades to come.