Peter Mayhew Reveals Script Pages Proving Han Shot First, 1994 'Star Wars' Style Guide Says "Be Original"

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Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope Han Solo And Greedo (skip crop)It’s been a busy week for the old guard of "Star Wars" on Twitter. As everyone waits to dive into "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" once again when it arrives on Blu-ray next month, those who have crowed that J.J. Abrams‘ film nods too heavily to the past will probably find some ammunition in their arsenal thanks to Lucasfilm Creative Executive Pablo Hidalgo.

READ MORE: Artwork And Extras Revealed For ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Blu-Ray

Stumbling across an old "Star Wars" style guide from August 1994 — which is essentially the guidebook and bible for writers to follow when crafting stories for the franchise’s massive canon — Hidalgo posted pages featuring some of the rules. There’s a strong emphasis on not revisiting the past, and it stresses "be original." The irony here is that George Lucas would start writing the script for "Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace" a few months later, but there are two things to note: firstly, this style guide was specifically for those working on a role-playing game (though it likely didn’t vary much for other types of properties). Secondly, at that time, George Lucas, as the creator of "Star Wars," could do whatever the hell he wanted, style guide or not. So while you might be bummed the franchise hasn’t yet gone, cinematically, to a galaxy far, far away you haven’t seen, the $2 billion haul of ‘The Force Awakens’ suggests audiences are just fine dealing with a mix of the old and new.

But speaking of Lucas doing whatever the hell he wanted, for years, that’s exactly what he did with the franchise, adding mountains of CGI, and basically forever tweaking his original trilogy. The most famous edit, of course, is in the showdown between Han Solo and Greedo, where the alien bounty hunter is now made to shoot first, prompting Han’s deadly return fire. But everyone knows Han shot first and now the proof is here: Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew tweeted the original shooting script pages, which indicate, in no uncertain terms, Han shot first. Case closed.

Check out all the goodies below. [The Verge/io9]