10 Biggest Star Wars Retcons

2. Han And Greedo's Shootout

Star Wars Greedo Shoots First
Disney

Harrison Ford might not give a damn about this, but the Han and Greedo "Who Shot First?" debate has been one of the most contentious topics in the Star Wars fandom for the last several decades.

The Episode IV scene in which our iconic smuggler is confronted by the Rodian bounty hunter has been subject to countless changes and re-edits over the years, each of them only adding more confusion to the situation than the last.

In the original cut of the film, Han blasts Greedo away before the alien has a chance to react, emphasising the fact that Mr. Solo is quite the scoundrel, and will do whatever it takes to survive. George Lucas, however, didn't want people to think that the lovable rogue was a cold-blooded killer, so he added a quick shot of Greedo firing first, to justify Han's actions as being in self-defence.

The scene has received a bunch of other small alterations over the years too, including the bizarre "Maclunkey edit" that debuted on Disney Plus in 2019.

While having Greedo shoot first might seem like a small retcon, many fans feel that it weakens Han's turn from anti-hero to galactic saviour, and that "Han shot first" is the definitive version of the scene.

The makers of Solo: A Star Wars Story agree with that sentiment too, with the final confrontation between Han and Beckett being described as "There can be no question that Han shoots first" on the page.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!