*Updated with information on George Lucas editing the Han/Greedo scene, not Disney.*
The launch of Disney+ has given Lucasfilm and Disney a chance to give Star Wars another tinkering. George Lucas’ films have undergone a number of cosmetic changes over the years, minor tweaks here and there with each new re-release. The most infamous of these is, of course, the Han/Greedo scene. Who shot first? Was it Han? Was it Greedo? For the 4K versions newly-released on Disney+, it just got a lot harder to figure out what the Hell happened due to one last bit of fiddling with by George Lucas.
So as you probably expected, fans flocked to Disney+ to check out the 4K versions of the original six Star Wars movies. What they found is that some changes have been made, and they aren’t all bad. For instance, the original 20th Century Fox fanfare has been restored, perfect for fans who truly want to recapture the nostalgia of watching these movies as kids. For me, it never felt right watching Star Wars without that intro, and now that’s back. Good on you, Disney.
Holy crap. I’m on @disneyplus and they have the 20th Century Fox fanfare in tact for #StarWars episodes I-VI! I always felt the fanfare is as much part of the soundtrack as any other track. This makes me so happy! ? #DisneyPlus #NostalgiaFeels pic.twitter.com/tN14MOnx5n— Jon Lee Brody (@JonLeeBrody) November 12, 2019
On the other hand, the Han/Greedo change is just baffling. As you probably recall, when Lucas gave us the “Special Editions” of his original trilogy, he changed the scene so that Greedo fired the initial shot before being killed by Han in self-defense. Ugh. It still leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Well, Disney/Lucasfilm reps have confirmed (via TheVerge) one more tweak by George Lucas that occurred prior to the Disney acquisition. Now it’s impossible to tell what the fuck happened due to inserted reaction shots, and a lame-ass explosion before Greedo slumps dead, but not before he says “Maclunkey!” for no apparent reason.
Oh my god. This is not a joke. pic.twitter.com/RMkh7Blg7D— Star Wars Visual Comparisons (@StarWarsVisComp) November 12, 2019
In the Disney+ version of Star Wars Greedo now shouts “MACLUNKEY” before getting shot. This is now my favorite version because why the hell not? MACLUNKEY! #starwars #maclunkey pic.twitter.com/k1XmP8wAZT— Eric Fell (@ericfell) November 12, 2019
Boo. Anyway, this change seems to be exclusive to Disney+ for now but could be the standard going forward. I don’t quite see the point, but there must be something more to it.
Other changes include a new Lucasfilm logo (meh) and a Star Wars intro that kinda reminds me of what we get before every Marvel Studios movie.
lucasfilm created a new intro for star wars and I’m not sure what it means but I kinda love it?? pic.twitter.com/RcwK4IDVW0— Aaron (@aaronfraggle) November 12, 2019
