Han shot first

"Han shot first" is a phrase referring to a controversial change made to a scene in the science fiction film Star Wars (1977), in which Han Solo (Harrison Ford) is confronted by the bounty hunter Greedo (Paul Blake) in the Mos Eisley cantina. The change was made for the 1997 Special Edition re-release of Star Wars, and has since been altered twice more. The phrase "Han shot first" is meant to express that "Han was the only one who shot", and is a colloquial retort to series creator George Lucas's decision to alter the scene.

Han Solo and Greedo both independently work for Jabba the Hutt, a crime lord based on the planet Tatooine. Before the events of the film, Solo, a smuggler for Jabba, jettisons cargo to avoid capture by an Imperial search party. As a result, Jabba offers a bounty on Solo. In the Mos Eisley cantina, Greedo corners Solo and forces him at gunpoint to sit down in a booth. Solo tells Greedo that he has the money to compensate Jabba, but Greedo demands the money for himself. Solo says he doesn't have the money at the moment, quietly readying his own blaster under the table. Greedo tells him that Jabba has run out of patience with Solo and that Greedo has been "waiting for a long time for this", referring to Solo's capture. Solo replies, "Yes, I'll bet you have." The scene's conclusion varies depending on the version of the film.

In the original 1977 theatrical release of the scene, the film cuts to a closeup of Greedo's face, followed quickly by a cloud of smoke and the sound effect of a blaster firing. This is followed by a reverse angle of Greedo from behind, slumping over the table. In 2012, director George Lucas expressed his dissatisfaction with this climax, believing that it depicts Solo, the film's supporting protagonist, as a "cold-blooded killer". Greedo had pointed a gun at Solo and bragged that he had been "looking forward" to seeing Solo's "dead body", constituting a direct threat on Solo's life that at least one legal expert believes would clearly warrant preemptive action on Solo's part in self-defense.

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