That famous scene in the original 1977 Star Wars where Han shoots Greedo in the Mos Eisley cantina has its newest, possibly weirdest edit yet. If you watch the movie on the new Disney Plus streaming service, you'll distinctly hear the alien shout "Maclunkey!" before he's famously shot by Han Solo.
"Oh my god," wrote the Twitter account Star Wars Visual Comparisons. "This is not a joke."
Oh my god. This is not a joke. pic.twitter.com/RMkh7Blg7D
— Star Wars Visual Comparisons (@StarWarsVisComp) November 12, 2019
The account also noted some other changes to the scene, including a new explosion as the firing happens.
So we’ve got a new insert shot of Greedo saying something without a subtitle before shooting, Han finally shoots once, then a new explosion covers a transition from them shooting to Greedo hitting the table, removing the Greedo dummy altogether.
— Star Wars Visual Comparisons (@StarWarsVisComp) November 12, 2019
A representative for Lucasfilm confirmed in an email that the edits to the scene were made by Star Wars creator George Lucas himself before Disney acquired the company.
And "Maclunkey" may sound odd, but it's not completely new to the Star Wars galaxy. Writer Bryan Young remembered the word, pronounced slightly differently, being used as a threat by podracer Sebulba in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
"My Huttese is a bit rusty, but, roughly translated, it means 'This'll be the end of you,'" Young wrote in a tweet.
Also, the word Maclunkey (or however you spell it) was used by Sebulba. My Huttese is a bit rusty, but, roughly translated, it means "This'll be the end of you" pic.twitter.com/wkktkZJXGW
— Bryan Young (@swankmotron) November 12, 2019
There's no doubt this change was overseen by George Lucas. Before the Disney sale he'd been working on the films again for their 4K remaster and 3D conversion. We've not seen those versions until now, apparently.
— Bryan Young (@swankmotron) November 12, 2019
CNET social-media producer Sean Buckley stitched the two uses of the word together and Young is right, even if Sebulba sounds a bit like he's saying "Ma-da-donkey." Regional dialect, and all that. "The pronunciation is different, but Greedo's new last words were already established in Star Wars," Buckley notes. "That means a lot."
Listen for yourself.
There's more to #maclunkey than you think: @swankmotron remembered Sebulba using the word as a threat in Episode 1, so I did the homework -- he was right.
— Sean Buckley (@seaniccus) November 12, 2019
The pronunciation is different, but Greedo's new last words were already established in Star Wars. That means a lot. https://t.co/pNwWPEqsiY pic.twitter.com/t2aJYzUT9V
Buckley has a pretty good theory, too, tying the addition of the word to Lucas' constant rejiggering of the Greedo scene to make Han look less cold-blooded.
"I think this may have been Lucas trying to meet the fans halfway," Buckley points out. "(Lucas is) giving Han a way to 'shoot first' but still be a 'good guy' who is only defending himself against an assailant who, by saying Maclunkey, declared that he was going to murder him."
If I were to guess, I'd say it ties into the history of the intention behind the re-edits of this scene: Making Han look less brutal.
— Sean Buckley (@seaniccus) November 12, 2019
Making Han shoot second was a way of recasting the killing of Greedo as self-defense. #Maclunkey does that too. Han was threatened.
I think this may have been Lucas trying to meet the fans halfway -- giving Han a way to "shoot first" but still be a "good guy" who is only defending himself against an assailant who, by saying #Maclunkey, declared that he was going to murder him.
— Sean Buckley (@seaniccus) November 12, 2019
As you might expect with a movie and scene this famous, fans took the "Maclunkey" ball and ran with it.
Comedian Eric Fell had fun inserting the word into other famous Star Wars scenes.
BREAKING: Greedo shouting "Maclunkey" isn't the only major change to the Original #starwars trilogy on #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/7HMRKGQkc0
— Eric Fell (@ericfell) November 12, 2019
And another Twitter user wrote, "First of all, what exactly is supposed to be exploding that hugely here? Greedo himself? Is he made of C-4? Second of all, WHY IS ANYONE STILL MESSING AROUND WITH THIS SCENE?"
First of all, what exactly is supposed to be exploding that hugely here? Greedo himself? Is he made of C-4? Second of all, WHY IS ANYONE STILL MESSING AROUND WITH THIS SCENE?
— I Am Not Herbert (@chrisdazey) November 12, 2019
This is Gen X and beyond's Zapruder film
— Blast it, Biggs (@MarkMcComb4) November 12, 2019
if you paid attention to the extended Star Wars canon you would know that Maclunkey is Greedo's partner, who was one week from retirement when Han killed him. the line is a devastating rebuke
— James Wades (@jamesodinwade) November 12, 2019
Looks like the seed money that Maclunkey Toilet Pucks™️ gave to Disney+ is really paying off. #maclunkey https://t.co/ttgwz1BZLV
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) November 12, 2019
I crosschecked the Disney+ version of A New Hope with the original scene and the 2011 remaster. Maclunkey is real and new. We are living in a maclunkey world and I am a maclunkey girl. https://t.co/wkugp0BQxF
— alexis nedd (@alexisthenedd) November 12, 2019
“Maclunkey” was the name of Greedo’s childhood sled 🛷 #StarWars #DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/SCZXzO3Maf
— Edmund Hanlon (@EdmundHanlon) November 12, 2019
“WHY MACLUNKEY IS REY’S DAD!" https://t.co/uewn7AbroV
— Jeremy Conrad (@ManaByte) November 12, 2019
Even horror author Stephen King got in the act, tweeting out "#Maclunkey Just because it's so weirdly funny."
#Maclunkey
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 12, 2019
Just because it’s so weirdly funny.
Keep poking around Disney Plus, because there are sure to be more gems out there in this new galaxy.
Originally published Nov. 12, 10:17 a.m. PT.
Update, 1:30 p.m. PT: Adds theory about Greedo's use of the word.
Update, 1:38 p.m. PT: Adds comment from Lucasfilm.