Han shot first To say " Han shot first " is to refer , often with distaste , to George Lucas ' s changes to the original trilogy . Often cited by film purists , this phrase more specifically refers to a change made to the " " Special Edition , in the scene involving the characters Han Solo and Greedo in the cantina . In the original version , after Greedo says , " I ' ve been looking forward to this moment for a long time , " Han replies , " Yes , I bet you have " and shoots Greedo under the table while Greedo is pointing a blaster at him . ( Thus , Han didn ' t merely shoot first ; he was the only one who fired . ) In the Special Edition , Greedo shoots at Han and misses , without explanation , from point - blank range , and then Han shoots him . Later , it was altered again to have Han and Greedo shooting at almost the same time ( though Greedo still shoots first ) , with Han dodging out of the way of Greedo ' s shot . With such a short time between each shot , it could be assumed that Han was already planning to shoot Greedo , rather than reacting to Greedo ' s shot . The principal objection from critics seems to be that the change dilutes and compromises Han ' s rebellious and ruthless nature . The change is felt to detract from Han ' s antiheroic qualities , and diminishes the character ' s growth and development over the story from a smuggler who cares only about himself ( and his co - pilot Chewbacca ) into a committed member of the Rebel Alliance fighting to bring freedom to the galaxy , as his shot is clearly in self - defense . A secondary objection considers the improbability that Greedo would miss at that range if he fired deliberately . Thus , his gun must have discharged accidentally , a rather unromantic death . This retroactive sanitizing was loosely paralleled in a 2002 DVD version of " " , in which the firearms held by police officers in the original 1982 film were digitally altered to two - way radios . Although fan criticism of " Greedo shot first " is generally considered to be a legitimate point of view , the incident also provided early inspiration ( and ongoing ammunition ) for those who engage in verbal attacks on George Lucas , a practice known as " Lucas bashing . " The scene in various media . In the scripts . The January 15 , 1976 script portrays the scene thus : " HAN " < br > " Yes , I ' ll bet you have . " " Suddenly the slimy alien disappears in a blinding flash of light . Han pulls his smoking gun from beneath the table as the other patrons look on in bemused amazement . Han gets up and starts out of the cantina , flipping the bartender some coins as he leaves . " The March 15 version of the script is identical in this scene except that Greedo is referred to simply as " Alien . " In the novelization . In the , this scene is vague . The book only says that " light and noise filled the little corner of the cantina " ; it never specifies who shot first . In the comic . Greedo spoke Basic in the of Marvel ' s comic adaptation . Han fired after Greedo threatened to kill him , but before Greedo could finish his next sentence . One of the deleted scenes included in this CD - ROM is an alternate take of the cantina sequence , including the encounter between Greedo and Han . It is a black - and - white work print that lacks any added music or sound effects . Greedo speaks English with a accent , speaking his original lines as in the 1976 script . Han shoots him before he can fire a shot . " Behind the Magic " plays this earlier cantina sequence side by side for comparison with the modified " Special Edition " version of the same scene from 1997 , making it clear that Greedo shooting was added later . In new canon . " " contains the first retelling of this scene released following the decision to discontinue the Expanded Universe in favor of a new canon continuity . As described in the novel , Solo reaches for his blaster and slides it from the holster under the table as he is telling Greedo that he doesn ' t have the money with him . When Solo states " Over my dead body ! , " Greedo draws his own blaster , points it at Han ' s heart and replies , " That ' s the idea . I ' ve been looking forward to killing you for a long time . " Solo replies , " Yeah . I ' ll bet you have . " The narration then says that " Greedo disappeared in a blinding flash of white light as Han pulled the trigger . The thump as Greedo ' s body slumped onto the table made the other cantina patrons look over . " There is no mention of Greedo having fired a shot . When asked regarding the matter in an interview slightly before the release of the title , the book ' s author , Alexandra Bracken , replied " Han , of course ! " However , " " , a 2016 graphic novelization of the films , depicts the scene as it ' s presented in the 2004 DVD version , with the two characters shooting at approximately the same time and Greedo ' s shot missing far wide and up . " " , a similar title , depicts the scene the same way . " The Luckless Rodian " is a story from the 40th - anniversary anthology " From a Certain Point of View " , presenting the events of the scene entirely from Greedo ' s point of view . Greedo is at no point said to have fired or even considered firing a weapon , and it is said that the last thing he saw was a flash of bright light and his last memory was of bitter injustice . George Lucas weighs in . In a February 9 , 2012 interview with " The Hollywood Reporter " , George Lucas indicated that Greedo fired first , even in the original film , and pointed out that the exchange of blaster fire between Han Solo and Greedo was shot in close - up which made the scene ambiguous . This ambiguity , along with viewers ' desire for Han Solo to be a cold - blooded killer , caused the audience to draw the wrong conclusions ; that is , they only thought Han shot first . Wide shots he added in later releases of the film served to make the actual results of the encounter more obvious . The suggestion , coming several years after the first occurrence of the alleged " change , " appears to contradict the film ' s script and other evidence suggesting that Greedo originally did not fire at Han . HanShootsFirst . org . In 2004 , HanShootsFirst . org started as a rant / petition site for the release of an unadulterated , non - revisionist , theatrical release of " Star Wars " , their stated mission being " Preservation of a Star Wars that Doesn ' t Suck . " Over the course of two years , Han Shoots First became the de - facto website for the " Greedo incident . " Han Shoots First enjoyed exposure from " Forbes Magazine " and Movies . com , as well as receiving much fandom acclaim . In 2006 , The Star Wars Fan Bois released HanShootsFirst . org 2 . 0 , allowing fans to express their opinions and rants about the " Star Wars " universe , as well as continuing with their original mission .