Star Wars' Greedo actor perplexed by 'Maclunkey' edit: 'I've never understood anything about the movies'

The actor behind Star Wars' Greedo has searched his feelings about the strange new Disney+ version, but he's coming up short of an explanation.

When Disney+ launched this week, Star Wars fans were baffled to find yet another change to a classic scene in the original 1977 film: the showdown between Han and Greedo, which was controversially altered after its original release so that Greedo fires a shot at Han before Han shoots and kills him. That's still the case in the version on Disney+, but now, an extra Greedo line has been added for no apparent reason, with the doomed Rodian shouting what sounds like "maclunkey!"

Empire caught up with Paul Blake, the actor who played Greedo in the original Star Wars, and he didn't have much in the way of an answer. "It confused me incredibly, but I've never understood anything about the movies anyway, particularly that," he said. Larry Ward provided the voice of Greedo, though, so he might have a slightly better idea.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Funnily enough, Blake told Empire he actually learned about the confusing new scene from Mike Carter, who played Bib Fortuna in Return of the Jedi. "He texted me and said, 'MACLUNKEY!'" Blake said. "I said, 'What the f—k are you talking about?'"

The new edit does actually come creator George Lucas himself,, with Disney confirming this week he made the change prior to the 2012 Lucasfilm purchase. Bryan Young also observed that the word, or something that sounds quite similar to it, was actually used by Sebulba in The Phantom Menace, and it translates roughly into "this'll be the end of you."

Blake, though, had a far more fun theory, telling Empire, "Well he's talking about his Scottish grandmother there. Greedo had a Scottish grandmother and an Irish grandfather, and a Rodian step-mother." Get on those updates, Wookieepedia editors.