# So let me get this straight. Han \*never\* shot first? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2012, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505 "2012-02-11T07:06:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/61 "2012-02-13T14:56:57Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > I dunno. If this were, say, five years ago, I’d say that ol’ George is just stirring the pot again, but what’s the point of coming out with this revelation now? The story has been told; there’s no new fortune to be made out of A New Hope. The superfans aren’t going to accept it, and the normal fans don’t care anymore. What’s the point? The point is that George cannot be wrong. He’s doubling down on the re-edit. He believes his own press, and it’s unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/62 "2012-02-13T15:01:34Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > The point is that George cannot be wrong. He’s doubling down on the re-edit. He believes his own press, and it’s unfortunate. The timing of this is also probably due to the release TPM in 3D. Not that he’s saying this for publicity, exactly, but that he’s being interviewed more and old interviews are being republished. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Know\_Nothing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f04885/32.png) [@I\_Know\_Nothing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Know_Nothing)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/63 "2012-02-13T15:46:45Z")
> [@standingwave](#): > > I guess in Lucasland you have to let the bad guy shoot first. Good guys never ever throw the first punch! Plus he was only trying to shoot the blaster out of Greedo’s hand, but missed. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/64 "2012-02-13T23:54:50Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Unobtanium is a real term in science fiction going way back (like a MacGuffin), but most scripts manage to remove the placeholder before it gets to production. That’s what I’m saying. They shouldn’t have ever let that get through to the final movie without changing it to something not ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/65 "2012-02-14T02:33:48Z")
N/m ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/66 "2012-02-14T04:35:55Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > That’s what I’m saying. They shouldn’t have ever let that get through to the final movie without changing it to something not ridiculous. It’s just a matter of time before some new element or material is dubbed ‘Unobtainium’ so I didn’t have a huge problem with its use as the film was set in the future. _[There have been repeated attempts to attribute the name to a real material.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unobtainium#Contemporary_popularization)_ ---
**Author:** ![Carmady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Carmady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carmady)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/67 "2012-02-14T04:53:30Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > At this point, I’m pretty sure Lucas is just trolling. > > Can’t say as I wouldn’t do the same, were I him. You wouldn’t. You would have already been selling the original theatrical films that made Star Wars popular in the first place. Perhaps as part of a set including your alternate versions. But you would not have had the foresight to bar the sale of the original film so that you would later be in a better position for trolling if people disapproved of your changes. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/68 "2012-02-14T05:55:34Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > That’s what I’m saying. They shouldn’t have ever let that get through to the final movie without changing it to something not ridiculous. I thought it was funny and indicated that the scientists who discovered it were TVTropes fans. Given that the trope exists in real life, why _wouldn’t_ a dorky scientist use it as the name for something? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/69 "2012-02-14T06:41:10Z")
TVTropes? Wikipedia had a page on it for two years prior. That term is from the fifties. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/70 "2012-02-14T13:16:39Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > Plus he was only trying to shoot the blaster out of Greedo’s hand, but missed. In the next round of edits, Han will not shoot at all. Instead, he will use a mirror to reflect Greedo’s blaster shot back on itself. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/71 "2012-02-14T14:48:24Z")
> [@I\_Know\_Nothing](#): > > Plus he was only trying to shoot the blaster out of Greedo’s hand, but missed. Heh. [QUOTE=Rustler’s Rhapsody] Peter: “Rex, you shot him in the head! How do you feel about that?” Rex: [weakly] “I missed his hand.” [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505/72 "2012-02-14T17:59:41Z")
> [@42fish](#): > > In the next round of edits, Han will not shoot at all. Instead, he will use a mirror to reflect Greedo’s blaster shot back on itself. [Or he’ll do something like this just to make it perfectly clear.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGNq8N6JK4U) [May as well change _every_ scene where Han shoots something to make it self defense.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajFd_Tf7D1M) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-let-me-get-this-straight-han-never-shot-first/612505.md?page=3)