5. A New Hope – Han shot first
It’s the most famous controversy when discussing the special edition changes, and it’s been talked to death, but no list would be complete without it.
After accepting Obi-Wan’s offer in exchange for transport, Han Solo is confronted by the bounty hunter, Greedo, who is looking to collect the bounty placed on Solo’s head by Jabba the Hutt. In the original movie, Han secretly un-holsters his blaster under the table and shoots. The Special Edition version of the film updates the scenario so that Greedo fires first and misses and then is shot.
Lucas claims that Greedo always shot first, but that it was shot in a confusing way:
“What I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t.”
Either way “cold-blooded” is a little harsh for someone whose life is being threatened at gunpoint. First or second it establishes that this is a guy who is in trouble.
In a 2014 interview, when asked who shot first, actor Harrison Ford’s reply was simply, “I don’t know and I don’t care.”
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