In the original theatrical releases of the original Star Wars trilogy, Jabba the Hutt first appeared in Return of the Jedi (1983), though he is mentioned in Star Wars (1977) and The Empire Strikes Back (1980), and a previously deleted scene involving Jabba the Hutt was added to the 1997 theatrical re-release and subsequent home media releases of A New Hope. When first shot, this scene featured Declan Mulholland as a humanoid version of Jabba, which was digitally superimposed over with the character's monstrous current design when the footage was reincorporated into the film.
Based on the above text, what's the best answer to this question: is jabba the hutt in a new hope?
no