News

Disney+ Changes Original 'Star Wars' Trilogy To Include Classic Fox Fanfare And Newly Tweaked Han/Greedo Confrontation

star wars disney+ changes
By Hoai-Tran Bui/

The Star Wars films have gone through their fair share of remasters, with each new re-release usually coming with technological tinkering from director George Lucas or family-friendly changes from new studio owner Disney. So with the release of the 4K remasters of all the Star Wars movies with Dolby Vision and Atmos support on Disney+ last night, fans didn't know what to expect. Would there be even more changes to make the classic sci-fi films fit the cutting-edge technology of modern day? Or would we get another change to the Han and Greedo confrontation?

But fans were unexpectedly treated to a blast from the past in the form of the old 20th Century Fox fanfare that originally accompanied the original Star Wars trilogy films. Of course, something new had to come with the old: yet another change to the Han and Greedo scene was made in the new release, while Disney+ rolled out a new Lucasfilm logo to accompany its new Star Wars properties.

When Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012, it scrapped the 20th Century Fox fanfare that played before that iconic opening crawl of the original Star Wars films. But for longtime Star Wars fans, that fanfare was as essential to the opening moments of the films as John Williams' triumphant score. But with 20th Century Fox recently joining the Disney family, the Disney+ 4k remasters of the original Star Wars films were able to restore that old Fox fanfare.

But that restoration of the nostalgia comes at the small price of another tweak to the infamous Han and Greedo confrontation. The scene that has been changed countless times with every remaster and re-release — maybe Han shot first, maybe Greedo, maybe both — and it received another tweak with the Disney+ 4k remaster. This time, it's unclear who shot who, because Greedo drops dead in a sparks-filled explosion, but not before getting in the last word.

The newest edit of the scene actually comes courtesy of George Lucas himself, who made the change before he sold Lucasfilm to Disney in 2012, Vanity Fair reports. In this scene, Han and Greedo shoot at the same time, but Greedo gets the final word: "Maclunkey." It's not translated in the newly edited scene, but according to /Film writer Bryan Young, it roughly translates in Huttese to, "This'll be the end of you." At least its meaning is much cooler than how it sounds.

But not all new changes are bad — Disney+ debuted a new Lucasfilm intro that starts with the classic logo before fading into a montage of iconic helmets and droids, including Darth Vader, R2-D2, C-3PO, and the newest resident of the galaxy far, far away, the Mandalorian.

What do you think of the new and old changes that Disney+ is bringing to the Star Wars films?

Recommended