Tag Archives: Original Trilogy

What Order Should You Watch the Star Wars Films to Prepare for the Last Jedi?

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Luke on TatooineLuke on Tatooine

As Star Wars: The Last Jedi approaches to make Christmas a bit more fun, it’s time to start the binge of watching all the Star Wars films that came before to get in the right mood. However, the question of ‘in what order to watch’ becomes more difficult to answer every year.

By Order of Release

A New Hope ?? The Empire Strikes Back ?? Return of the Jedi ?? The Phantom Menace ?? Attack of the Clones ?? Revenge of the Sith ?? The Force Awakens ?? Rogue One

Why does it make sense? That’s how the films were released, starting in 1977, so why not do it according to the studios? It’s right visually, because you go from the old-school days of the original trilogy to the more modern, sleeker look of the prequels, followed by Rogue One and Episode VII, which are from this decade, hence look very different.

The only problem here is Rogue One. It refers to a lot of things in A New Hope, and seeing it so detached from the film that picks up right where it ends might be a bit weird.

In-Universe Timeline

The Phantom Menace ?? Attack of the Clones ?? Revenge of the Sith ?? Rogue One ?? A New Hope ?? The Empire Strikes Back ?? Return of the Jedi ?? The Force Awakens

Why does it make sense? From a storytelling point of view, it shows the progress of the Skywalker saga, with the “interruption” of the Anthology episode, from the beginning of a young Anakin, to the days of the new characters of Rey and Finn as well as Kylo, through Luke’s heroics alongside Leia and Han Solo.

The issue here is that it feels weird starting with movies from the 21st century more or less and in the middle seeing movies made in the late 70’s and 80’s, which as magical as they are, do have a silly quality to them in terms of visuals.

The “Storytelling” Order

Rogue One ?? A New Hope ?? The Empire Strikes Back ?? The Phantom Menace ?? Attack of the Clones ?? Revenge of the Sith ?? Return of the Jedi ?? The Force Awakens

Why? There’s something to be said about going back and forth in time. The story begins with plenty of action, and then, before the climax of ROTJ, we see the story of how Darth Vader came to be, and the fall of the Jedi Order. It gives a happy ending, which isn’t taken away by Episode VII, which is just the first part of a trilogy, but has an optimistic feel at its end.

Skipping the Phantom Menace or the Prequels Altogether (Machete Order)

If you hate the prequels, this might be how you’ll do it. It does feel that since Disney took over things, they’re trying as hard as possible to erase the legacy of episodes 1-2-3, which are probably receiving more hate over the years than they deserve. Some people simply skip the most Jar-Jar heavy film, the Phantom Menace.

The suggested order here: Rogue One ?? A New Hope ?? Empire ?? Return of the Jedi ?? The Force Awakens.

It’s also shorter.

Get Watching

Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Episode VIII) comes out on December 15. You can get Episodes I-VI in one collection, while The Force Awakens and Rogue One come separately.

What’s the Correct Order of Watching the Star Wars Films?

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Star Wars Episode VII

With the 8th Star Wars feature film coming out soon (Rogue One), it’s time to start thinking about doing the obligatory Star Wars marathon before a new film comes out. The only question is: In what order should you watch the 7 films?

There are two things most fans would agree upon:

  • Episode VII, The Force Awakens, should be watched last
  • Episode I, The Phantom Menace, is the worst film of the bunch

With that in mind, the question that remains is what about the other five films: II (Attack of the Clones), III (Revenge of the Sith), IV (A New Hope), V (The Empire Strikes Back) and VI (Return of the Jedi).

Watch by in-Universe chronology

This one makes sense, as it simply has the events follow each other in a mostly logical order. Which means watching the second trilogy (I-II-III) first, followed by the original trilogy, and then for dessert, The Force Awakens.

Watch by release chronology

The order that I found to be the more popular among people, maybe because it makes more sense in their heads: Watching what they came to know first before the newer stuff. The original trilogy might portray a later time in the galaxy’s history, but they look older (even with the late 90’s “fixes”), and seem to make sense to watch first.

Mix it up: IV-V-I-II-III-VI…. and VII

This order comes with a little bit storytelling narrative of its own. It begins in the midst of the action: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, the two best films of the trilogy according to most, before doing some pre quelling and exposing the backstory before the conclusion of the second story. It’s not such a bad idea, and before The Force Awakens, that’s how I watched the films. It gives the whole binge watching the happy conclusion, and putting the Rise of Vader in a much more central position of the timeline.

Skip The Phantom Menace

A lot of people do this, and they joked about it in The Big Bang Theory. The order is like in the ‘mix it up’ suggestion, only without The Phantom Menace, who many feel doesn’t really add much to the overall story. It cuts most of Jar Jar, pod racing and Qui Gon.

Skip the Prequel Trilogy Altogether

A bit extreme isn’t it? Well, many saw The Force Awakens and mentioned how it has almost nothing to do with the prequel films, as if it was a big F U from J.J. Abrams, Disney and whoever was involved in making the film to George Lucas for making that “abomination”. It does make it for a much less exhausting binge/marathon experience, which will be three films (IV-V-VI) and The Force Awakens.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out on December 16. To make your viewing experience better, get a Star Wars shirt to wear for the cinema. And if you need to catch up on previous films, no matter the order, now’s the time to buy the DVDs/Blu-Rays/Streams.

What’s the Correct Order of Watching the Star Wars Films?

Posted on by
Star Wars Episode VII

With the 8th Star Wars feature film coming out soon (Rogue One), it’s time to start thinking about doing the obligatory Star Wars marathon before a new film comes out. The only question is: In what order should you watch the 7 films?

There are two things most fans would agree upon:

  • Episode VII, The Force Awakens, should be watched last
  • Episode I, The Phantom Menace, is the worst film of the bunch

With that in mind, the question that remains is what about the other five films: II (Attack of the Clones), III (Revenge of the Sith), IV (A New Hope), V (The Empire Strikes Back) and VI (Return of the Jedi).

Watch by in-Universe chronology

This one makes sense, as it simply has the events follow each other in a mostly logical order. Which means watching the second trilogy (I-II-III) first, followed by the original trilogy, and then for dessert, The Force Awakens.

Watch by release chronology

The order that I found to be the more popular among people, maybe because it makes more sense in their heads: Watching what they came to know first before the newer stuff. The original trilogy might portray a later time in the galaxy’s history, but they look older (even with the late 90’s “fixes”), and seem to make sense to watch first.

Mix it up: IV-V-I-II-III-VI…. and VII

This order comes with a little bit storytelling narrative of its own. It begins in the midst of the action: A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back, the two best films of the trilogy according to most, before doing some pre quelling and exposing the backstory before the conclusion of the second story. It’s not such a bad idea, and before The Force Awakens, that’s how I watched the films. It gives the whole binge watching the happy conclusion, and putting the Rise of Vader in a much more central position of the timeline.

Skip The Phantom Menace

A lot of people do this, and they joked about it in The Big Bang Theory. The order is like in the ‘mix it up’ suggestion, only without The Phantom Menace, who many feel doesn’t really add much to the overall story. It cuts most of Jar Jar, pod racing and Qui Gon.

Skip the Prequel Trilogy Altogether

A bit extreme isn’t it? Well, many saw The Force Awakens and mentioned how it has almost nothing to do with the prequel films, as if it was a big F U from J.J. Abrams, Disney and whoever was involved in making the film to George Lucas for making that “abomination”. It does make it for a much less exhausting binge/marathon experience, which will be three films (IV-V-VI) and The Force Awakens.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes out on December 16. To make your viewing experience better, get a Star Wars shirt to wear for the cinema. And if you need to catch up on previous films, no matter the order, now’s the time to buy the DVDs/Blu-Rays/Streams.