By Looks like the old Han shot first/Greedo shot first thing is being trudged up again, but this time by George Lucas. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lucas said the following:
The controversy over who shot first, Greedo or Han Solo, in Episode IV, what I did was try to clean up the confusion, but obviously it upset people because they wanted Solo [who seemed to be the one who shot first in the original] to be a cold-blooded killer, but he actually isn’t. It had been done in all close-ups and it was confusing about who did what to whom. I put a little wider shot in there that made it clear that Greedo is the one who shot first, but everyone wanted to think that Han shot first, because they wanted to think that he actually just gunned him down.
I think Lucas added after the interview, “We have always been at war with Eastasia, and credits will do fine… credits will do fine.”
In the years since the prequels ended, I’ve allowed my fan rage to dissipate about all things Star Wars. I get mildly irked, but I allow that irritation to pass, like sand off a dewback’s back. For me, the Greedo shooting first thing is just an unnecessary addition that was also poorly executed. It’s the prequels in a nutshell.
On a related note, tomorrow I’m watching the THX non-specialed version of Star Wars on laserdisc with some friends. Good times.
[THR via IGN]