It’s the strange word heard ’round the galaxy ― or at least ’round “Star Wars” fandom ― and it sounds a lot like “Maclunkey!”
The new Disney+ streaming service includes a host of “Star Wars” content, including the one that started it all: “Episode IV ― A New Hope.” The original 1977 release famously featured Harrison Ford’s Han Solo firing first at the bounty hunter Greedo during an encounter at the Mos Eisley cantina on Tatooine.
The scene was edited later to show Greedo firing first because, in the words of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas, he didn’t want his hero to be a “cold-blooded killer.”
The change ticked off fans and spawned a cottage industry in “Han Shot First” T-shirts.
The new edition unveiled this week tweaked that sequence again. Just before he shoots at Han Solo, Greedo yells something that sounds like “Maclunkey!”
Most of Greedo’s words, spoken in his own language, were accompanied by English captions. “Maclunkey!” was not.
Stranger still, Disney said the addition ― a single odd exclamation ― was done by Lucas himself.
A Disney rep told The Verge that the “Star Wars” creator made the alteration before the company acquired his Lucasfilm company in a $4 billion deal in 2012.
Several fans and the website Slate discovered that the phrase was actually “ma klounkee.” It was used in the 1999 prequel “The Phantom Menace” and means “I’ll end you.”
The Verge also reported that Han and Greedo now simultaneously shoot at each other.
Garrett McDowell of Letterboxd posted a comparison showing how the scene had changed over the years:
Whether it’s “Maclunkey” or “ma klounkee” or something else entirely, the unexpected addition had “Star Wars” fans talking:
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