The next "Star Wars" standalone spinoff flick has officially started shooting, with one of the co-directors of the as-yet-untitled Han Solo-centric film revealing the exciting news on Twitter. And while the announcement in and of itself is noteworthy, filmmakers made it even more so by including a winking reference to one of the most famous controversies to emerge from the "Star Wars"-verse.

Chris Miller, who's co-directing the feature alongside creative partner Phil Lord (with whom he also co-helmed "The LEGO Movie"), tweeted out the news to followers on Monday, featuring a photo of the marker used to differentiate between various scenes and takes (in this case, the very first take of production). Aside from the marker being inscribed with the film's hilarious working title ("Red Cup," a nod to the famous Solo brand drinking vessels), Miller also included the perfect, cheeky caption: "Han First Shot."

For the uninitiated, that phrase is a reference to the infamous "Han shot first" controversy that's embroiled "Star Wars" fandom for the past two decades, ever since creator George Lucas released his special edition versions of the original trilogy. In 1977's "A New Hope," Han (Harrison Ford) is having a confrontation in the Mos Eisley cantina with Greedo, who's looking to collect on a bounty put on the smuggler by Jabba the Hut; as Greedo continues to threaten Solo, he suddenly pulls out his blaster and casually shoots Greedo to death.

But in the re-released version that hit theaters in 1997, Lucas edited the scene so that Greedo actually fires off a shot at Han first, making Han's own shot in retaliation/self defense. Longtime fans of the series weren't fooled, though, and have insisted ever since that Han did indeed shoot at Greedo first, hence Miller's reference on Monday. The official "Star Wars" Twitter account acknowledged the director's joke, though it doesn't look like they'll be reworking the franchise canon for a second time.

We look forward to more fun from Miller (and Lord) on Twitter throughout production. The Han Solo movie, starring Alden Ehrenreich as a younger version of the iconic character, is due in theaters on May 25, 2018.

[via: Chris Miller/Twitter]