Originally Posted by Douglas Monce /t/313950/the-official-star-wars-the-complete-saga-blu-ray-discussion-thread/1950#post_3904496
I don't think Lucas ever said that this is how he originally wanted it. In fact I read an interview at some point where he said that he had changed his mind about how this would make Han look in the eyes of kids. He thought later that it made Han too cold blooded.
Personally I like it because Han grows over the course of the films. At the end of Jedi, Han is no longer a man who would kill someone in cold blood.
And actually the script dated January 15, 1976 says:
GREEDO: That's the idea. I've been looking forward to killing you for
a long time.
HAN: Yes, I'll bet you have.
Suddenly the slimy alien disappears in a blinding flash of
light. Han pulls his smoking gun from beneath the table as the
other patron look on in bemused amazement. Han gets up and
starts out of the cantina, flipping the bartender some coins
as he leaves.
Just as the way the original film was shot and edited, you never actually see Han shoot, its implied.
Doug
Like someone else said, Han doesn't have a cause, he's all for himself, very selfish and ruthless when it comes to saving his own skin and for money, he grows in the film and finds a cause, to alter this scene really alters the character a bit too much and makes the growing part seem less than it could be, it's a bad move and its the one thing i really dislike, i can take the CGI changes but i wish they would have left this scene well alone.