Greedo has a new line in the Disney+ version of Star Wars: A New Hope — and no one knows what it means

Greedo Star Wars.
(Image credit: Screenshot/Twitter/Eric Fell)

Who shot first?

It might not be one of Forky's questions, but it is perhaps the greatest conundrum of our time, up there with "what happens after you die," "what existed before the Big Bang," and "is the hit movie Frozen actually a giant cover up so people don't stumble onto the 'truth' about Walt Disney having been cryogenically frozen?" But truth-seekers who want to know which version of Han Solo's showdown with Greedo made it onto Disney+ are going to have more questions than just that. Chiefly: What on Earth is a Maclunkey?

In the original 1977 Star Wars film, Han Solo famously shot the bounty hunter Greedo, who was holding him at gunpoint, after a few threats. When director George Lucas re-released the film in 1997, he went back to edit the scene so Greedo actually fires on Han first, making Han's shot a return-fire, so the murder of Greedo is a little more justified. The question of who shot first has been the subject of controversy and endless discussion ever since.

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On Tuesday, Disney+ uploaded a completely new version of the divisive scene in Star Wars: A New Hope. In this one, Han and Greedo still exchange their barbs, but then Greedo has an extra line of dialog before shooting first: He shouts "Maclunkey!"

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What does it mean? Even Star Wars superfans are stumped by the utterance, although there is a rumor that "maclunkey" was added back during a 4K restoration that was never released.

Most impressive of all: Who'd have thought that after all these years, we'd have a new question about Greedo to keep us up at night? Jeva Lange

Update 2:47 p.m. ET: Disney confirmed to The Verge that "maclunkey" was added to the scene by Lucas prior to the studio's purchase of the Star Wars franchise in 2012.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.