Star Wars Admits Han Shooting First Should Be Canon

Warning! This article contains preview images for Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca #1

The ‘Han Shot First’ debate has raged throughout the Star Wars fandom since the change was made in the 1997 Special Edition of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and Star Wars itself just chimed in by admitting Han Solo shooting first should be canon. The Star Wars Special Edition showed a re-edited scene in the Cantina where Han first encounters Greedo. In the original edition, Han shoots first after it’s clear Greedo is there to deliver him to Jabba the Hutt where he would assuredly die or suffer some sort of cruel fate. In the Special Edition, Greedo shoots first and Han ducks out of the way before taking his shot, killing Greedo in self-defense and exonerating Han of any wrongdoing. That re-edit has sparked major controversy in the fandom, and an all-new chapter in the Star Wars mythos admits that the change should not have been made at all. 

Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca #1 by Marc Guggenheim and David Messina with cover art by Alex Maleev, the comic delves into the lives of Chewie and Han before the events of A New Hope. In a preview for the first issue, fans are given a sneak peak into the all-new mission Jabba has for these scoundrels, which includes working with the very first person fans ever saw Han kill on screen: Greedo. Han, Chewie, and Greedo are forced to join forces to retrieve something of great importance to Jabba the Hutt, during which time Han tells Greedo exactly what he would do to him should the bounty hunter betray their temporary partnership. 

The preview released by StarWars.com perfectly sets up the events that play out in the original cut of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Han specifically tells Greedo, “If you try to screw me over, double-cross me, do anything that gives me a bad feeling… I’ll shoot first and ask questions later.” Han literally says that he would shoot first, putting to bed the ‘Han Shot First’ debate as Star Wars admits Han Solo shooting first should be canon. 

Another admission that re-editing the Cantina scene was a mistake is shown on the beginning pages of this preview. A conversation proves Han would never put himself in a situation where he had to duck from a blaster shot when the option to shoot first is right in front of him. The preview opens with Han and Chewie finishing up a job with another intergalactic smuggler who tells him that the next time their paths cross, he better have a blaster or learn to duck, to which Han replies, “Think I’ll choose the blaster.” 

Not only does Han Solo tell Greedo that he would shoot him dead if given any reason to, but he also says that he would blast his way out of a situation rather than ducking out of the way. These insights into Han’s character before the events of Episode IV prove that his actions in the Special Edition do not as accurately reflect his character as much as the original cut. From Han dismissing the possibility that he would duck to him literally telling Greedo that he’d shoot first, Star Wars admits in this latest comic that Han Solo shooting first should be canon. Star Wars: Han Solo & Chewbacca #1 is available March 9, 2022. 

Source: StarWars.com

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