Last week it was reported that a librarian had found a shooting script for the original Star Wars. And, predictably, the internet did what it always does when news from that galaxy far, far away breaks - fumble about getting copy out before really figuring out what was actually "news" in the story. They did a typically messy job. In this case, what we really have here something of a non-story for those not interested in obscure bootleg geek collectibles. Shooting scripts from Star Wars aren't unheard of and it appears that this isn't even a real one, but a fan-made replica. The discoverer, interviewed over at CBC, even makes a big deal about Luke's last name originally being Starkiller, setting the bar low in terms of actual Star Wars insight. Noticing the pedestrian nature of the story, most of the geek press instead turned to focus to a minor detail in the text - the 'resolution' of the Han Shot First debate. "This Original Star Wars Script Finally Solves Who Shot First" or similar articles popped up, but they're probably even more erroneous than making a big deal of the discovery in the first place. This isn't just something wrong with this story, but with this element of Star Wars' legacy in pop culture in general. Quite simply, Han didn't shoot "first"; he shot. To shoot first implies that there was a two-way firefight going on and that everyone's favourite scoundrel simply got the jump on Greedo. And that isn't at all what happens in Star Wars. Well, at least the version any sane fan counts as Star Wars. In 1997 George Lucas changed the sequence from Han firing at an unsuspecting Greedo under the table to Greedo getting out a couple of shots before Han could smoke him. Subsequent changes in 2004 reduced the time difference between shots (they now fire at pretty much the same time), but the big change still remains; Han wasn't the only one who shot. This was ostensibly to make Solo appear like less of a rogue character to children (although that ignores he's still be seen planning to shoot Greedo from the start of the confrontation), but sat with fans just as well as popping Hayden Christensen into Return Of The Jedi. It's a totally pointless, minute change (like much of the Special Edition's meddling) that dilutes the character and, possibly more egregiously, looks really naff in the film itself. Since the initial change, Han Shot First has become a geek mantra, a symbol of Star Wars fans' ongoing fight to get the original theatrical cuts released in a proper, restored form. But, as time's gone by, all the fuss made about the scene has created the illusion to those on the sidelines that there's actually some debate amongst Star Wars fans about who shot first. Let's put it simply here - there isn't. The debate is between fans as a mass and whoever has creative control of the movies (for a long time Lucas, now Disney). That debate is no less potent now than it was back when the Special Editions were first released (if anything it's more so - Disney are more likely to actually release the Original Original Trilogy), so it's important to remember that's the real motive behind all this. Instead of running around with T-Shirts and mugs emblazoned with "Han Shot First", why not go for a more honest "Han Shot". Less catchy, but much more true. What's your take on the whole Han Shot First debacle? Continue the debate down in the comments.
