10 Weirdest Decisions In Star Wars History
7. Han Lets Greedo Shoot First
Is there a single Star Wars moment as historically controversial as Han Solo shooting first? In the 1997 Special Edition of A New Hope, George Lucas decided to re-edit the sequence in which Han shoots bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake) dead in the cantina.
In the original version of the scene, Han of course shoots Greedo dead before Greedo can fire a shot off, immediately solidifying Han as a ruthlessly street-smart anti-hero.
Yet the Special Edition saw Lucas soften his stance on Han's personality, having Greedo instead fire a shot at Han first, such that Han only returns fire and kills Greedo in self-defense.
Many criticised George Lucas for what they perceived as watering Han's personality down for the sake of younger audiences, not to mention that the revised scene a) makes Greedo look like an idiot who can't hit Han at close range and b) shows Han surviving through dumb luck rather than cunning.
Given that precisely nobody complained about Han shooting Greedo in the film's original theatrical release, it remains one of the strangest changes Lucas ever made to the original trilogy.