Star Wars: Was Greedo Anakin's Friend?

Whether he shot first or not, the bug-eyed, fly-mouthed alien Greedo is as memorable a character in the "Star Wars" universe as trap-weary Admiral Akbar or "poodoo"-proclaiming pod racer Sebulba. It's a shame, then, that his presence is pretty brief in the original trilogy, thanks to a heated altercation with Han Solo that left him face-down and dead at the Mos Eisley Cantina. But was that the only time the rough Rodian stumbled onto the radar but not quite the presence of a Skywalker's goings-on, or is there a history that stretches back further than him interfering with Luke's ride off Tattooine?

In "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace," we see Anakin (Jake Lloyd) with a bunch of pals when he's working on his pod racer, one of which is a spritely young Rodian who also attends the race in support. Now, for the unsuspecting "Star Wars" fan, it's easy to assume that this little green guy is Greedo, before he ended up living a life of crime and contract killing. After all, the timelines do kind of line up a little.

The truth is, of course, that there is more than one Rodian in the galaxy, and while this one is Anakin's pal, he's certainly not Greedo. However, in a deleted scene from "Episode I," it was revealed that Greedo did once get the chance to learn a valuable lesson at the hands of young Skywalker that he really should've paid closer attention to.

A deleted scene from "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" shows that, following his victory at the pod race, Anakin is still getting heat despite coming out on top. The cut scene features Anakin whaling on a young Rodian who has accused him of cheating, only for it to be revealed to be Greedo. Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) asks Anakin if he did cheat, only to have the young pod racer assure him that he didn't, though Greedo's opinion remains unchanged. As the Jedi master and his potential Padawan leave, Wald (Warwick Davis), Anakin's Rodian pal, says, "Starting trouble again, Greedo? Everyone knows that you shouldn't attack someone first."

Now, is it a genius bit of dramatic irony, given Greedo's eventual demise, or a Rancor-sized wink to fans of a favorite moment from the franchise? That's up to fans to decide, but this at least clears up the fact that Greedo and the boy that would eventually go on to tear the galaxy a new one were never on good terms. In fact, if Anakin/Darth Vader was a petty Sith Lord, he might have thrown some serious payback Greedo's way in the years that followed. Maybe Han did him a favor after all.