So you want to review all the Star Wars movies again? Or you know someone who has not seen any of them before and you want to properly introduce them to the series? Well, depending on how you feel about some of the revelations throughout, you may want to view them one way. But if you like things presented in order, you may want to review them a different way. Here is a breakdown of your most common options.
Release order
If you want to see the movies in the same way that diehard fans (and probably your parents) saw the movies, you can watch them in theatrical release order. However, note that this might get confusing for newbies, as this method really takes the historical timelines out of order. But it is important to remember that this order was how George Lucas wanted it released.
Episode I: A New Hope (1977)
Episode II: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Episode III: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Episode IV: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Episode V: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Episode VI: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rogue One (2016) (anthology film)
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
Solo (2018) (anthology film)
Episode IX: Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Chronological order
If you want to see how the stories progress historically right, alongside the characters, you can watch them in chronological order. Just note that for this order, what is the arguably the biggest reveal of the series will be more of just a continuing storyline than an actual reveal for a new viewer. So be wary.
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Solo: A Star Wars Story (anthology film)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (anthology film)
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Episode VII: The Force Awakens
Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker
Of course, these are not the only ways to do your marathon. Other popular ways include by runtime (Episode I shortest at 2 hours 4 minutes and Episode IX longest at 2 hours 35 minutes), alternating order (watching all the first parts, all the seconds, and then all the thirds, eliminating the anthologies), the Godfather order (begin with Episodes I and II, then go to the Episodes IV-VI for background, and then back to Episode III), Machete order (similar to the Godfather order, except you completely remove The Phantom Menace).
Wait, there’s even more. You don’t have to stop with these main movies if you so choose. For example, you’ve got The Mandalorian on Disney+, which takes place after Episode 3, the Clone Wars series, which takes place in between Episodes V and VI, and quite a few more.
Whatever way you choose and however many movies you choose to watch: May the Force be with you.
