The best Star Wars viewing order

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“Spoiler” alert:
It could be argued that this post contains spoilers. As I’ve argued before, if you don’t know what happens in the Original Trilogy, that’s your own fault. You’ve had almost 40 years to watch them.

My most recent Star Wars marathon

I was a senior in high school. Some of my friends and I decided it was time to have a Star Wars marathon. I had recently been given the Star Wars Trilogy Letterbox Collectors Edition on VHS and I’m not gonna lie: I was pretty proud of that sucker. After years of watching the fullscreen versions of these movies, it was like my eyes had been opened and I had taken my first steps into a much larger world. And I had to share this with my friends.

So it was decided. Following our after-graduation party which was, conveniently enough, after we graduated from high school, my friends and I gathered in our family’s basement and settled in for an overnight Star Wars marathon.

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I think we might’ve bitten off more than we could chew. I think only one of us managed to make it through the whole night. But there was no question about what order we were watching the films. Our Star Wars viewing order was consistent (because any other option just wouldn’t make any sense).

The Original Star Wars viewing order:

1. Episode IV: A New Hope
2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

While I’ve helped facilitate other Star Wars marathons, I think that was the last time I watched the Star Wars saga all in one day.

A lot has changed since then, including the Star Wars viewing order

The Skywalker Saga has expanded since then. A lot. It’s tripled since the last time I had a Star Wars marathon. In addition to the Original Trilogy, we have the Prequel Trilogy and now the Sequel Trilogy. Plus, there’s The Clone Wars (both the film and the TV series), Rebels, Resistance, the stand-alone films like Rogue One and Solo. And of course there’s The Mandalorian, too. But the main thrust, however, has always been the Skywalker films.

And if you’re going to have a Star Wars marathon, it’s probably best to stick with the Skywalker Saga. It’s one big story arc that focuses on a few characters. But even if you’re keeping things simple by limiting your marathon to these nine films, choosing a Star Wars viewing order is still a little complicated.

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The Star Wars viewing order problem

I am sure you know the point of contention when it comes to the Skywalker Saga. Much like The Chronicles of Narnia series and the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit series, the episodes were created out of order. So there can be a lot of drama surrounding the correct Star Wars viewing order. Do you watch the films in the order they were released or the order of the story’s timeline?

Some people argue that you should watch the Skywalker saga in episode order – let’s call this Timeline Order. I do not think this is the best viewing order. I asked Aiden what he thought. He agrees.

The Star Wars Timeline Order:

1. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
2. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
4. Episode IV: A New Hope
5. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
6. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
7. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
8. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
9. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The problem with watching Star Wars in Timeline Order is that The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith were all created with the understanding that the audience knows what’s going on. You know the end result – the “Chosen One” is going to leave the galaxy in darkness, not balance.

So when Anakin is introduced to Obi-Wan in Episode I, it’s an emotional moment because you know that this isn’t going to end well. For anyone.

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The prequels don’t have to spend a lot of time revealing a backstory or unpacking what on earth the Force, Jedi, and the Empire are to begin with. That’s already happened in the Original Trilogy. There’s a whole lot of exposition of the story – especially in A New Hope.

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Watching in Timeline Order also minimizes important revelations that leave you rather shook when you watch them in Release Order. Revelations like: “No, I am your father.”

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Another turning point is when Luke learns about his twin sister: “Leia’s my sister!”

These are huge, earth-shattering revelations in the Original Trilogy. And they’re intended to be. That’s how the films were structured. If you watch the Star Wars saga in Timeline Order, these aren’t a surprise at all. They’re already common knowledge thanks to Revenge of the Sith. The story is told in such a way that these are major plot twists in the Skywalker saga.

Watching the series in Timeline Order erases the plot twist from the storyline. We know the complicated relationship between Luke, Leia, and their father before the opening crawl even begins in A New Hope. That’s not how the story was told. And it’s not how we should continue to tell the stories.

The problem with watching Star Wars in Release Order

Watching the Skywalker saga in Release Order also presents its own set of problems in the Star Wars viewing order.

The Star Wars Release Order:

1. Episode IV: A New Hope
2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
6. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
7. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
8. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
9. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

The Prequel Trilogy is, essentially, a giant flashback that tells the story that happens before the Original Trilogy. From the storytelling perspective of the whole Skywalker saga, it makes absolutely no sense to watch the Prequel Trilogy in between the Original Trilogy and the Sequel Trilogy. Yes, it fills the backstory. But the backstory is really more relevant to the Original Trilogy than it is to the Sequel Trilogy. It really doesn’t make sense to watch it as a lead in to a story about a now-defunct Empire and a previously nonexistent New Republic.

I suggest a new Star Wars viewing order strategy

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I am convinced that the best way to view the Skywalker saga is by treating the Prequel Trilogy as the flashbacks they are. The Machete Order attempts this, but I disagree with it. No matter how much we dislike The Phantom Menace, it is part of the Skywalker saga. We, the fans, cannot remove it from canon. So it needs to be included in the series.

You could say that this is a modification of the Machete Order, but it’s a little more complicated than that. My suggestion in the Star Wars viewing order involves stopping in the middle of a movie and then switching to others. It initially sounds a bit complicated, and it was complicated back when DVDs and Blu-rays ruled the world. But now that these films are available digitally, it’s really not too complicated to do.

The Flashback Star Wars viewing order

1. Episode IV: A New Hope
2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
3. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – until Luke and Obi-Wan meet at Dagobah (details below)
4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
6. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
7. Finish Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
8. Episode VII: The Force Awakens
9. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
10. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

There’s a few things that happen here when you use the Flashback Order. The story still begins in media res, preserving the way the surprises were originally revealed in the Original Trilogy. It also gives more weight to Obi-Wan’s revelation that he was only telling the truth “from a certain point of view.”

Where to pause in Return of the Jedi:

After Yoda dies* in Return of the Jedi, Ghost Obi-Wan appears to Luke outside of Yoda’s hut on Dagobah. They talk about Anakin, Darth Vader, and the nature of Truth^#. Luke gets around to asking about the other Skywalker that Yoda had mentioned before he died. Obi-Wan starts to talk about his twin sister. As he does, Luke begins to put he pieces together in his mind.

Then Obi-Wan says, “That is why your sister remains safely anonymous.”
Pause it right here!
According to Disney+, this is at the 47:57 mark in the film.

Then you watch the entirety of the Prequel Trilogy and come back to Return of the Jedi. Luke then shouts “Leia! Leia’s my sister!” And the rest of the story benefits from this revelation at this time.

This is the Way.

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Aiden’s Inception Star Wars viewing order

Aiden has suggested another Star Wars viewing order that incorporates the Sequel Trilogy more fully than mine does. We call it the Inception Order because it involves a flashback within a flashback, kind of like the layers of dreams involved in the film Inception.

The Inception Viewing Order

1. Episode VII: The Force Awakens – Until Han begins to discuss the Force with Rey and Finn
2. Episode IV: A New Hope
3. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
4. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi – until Luke and Obi-Wan meet at Dagobah (details above)
5. Episode I: The Phantom Menace
6. Episode II: Attack of the Clones
7. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
8. The rest of Return of the Jedi
9. Finish The Force Awakens
10. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
11. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

I like this version because doubting Han becomes an evangelist here. He’s a Believer. And watching the story unfold this way reveals Han’s conversion. He might not understand it all, but he believes.

Where to pause in The Force Awakens

Han mentions the Jedi to Finn and Rey. They’re really quite clueless about the story of the Jedi or the nature of the Force. Han says that he really didn’t believe any of it, either.

“I thought it was just a bunch of mumbo jumbo.”
Pause it right here!
Disney+ says this is 53:28 into the film.

You’ve got to use the second flashback, though, or you run into the same problem as the Release Order and the Timeline Order. But then, after all of that effort, you come to the moment when Han the Skeptic becomes Han the Believer, saying that it’s true. All of it.

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I have to admit, the more I think about Aiden’s Inception Star Wars viewing order, the more I like it. It adds another layer to the complexity of the story without revealing too much in the beginning.

OK, I guess it does reveal that Han, Luke, and Chewie survive the Original Trilogy. But that’s not nearly as big of a spoiler as…say…who Rey’s parents are.

I think Aiden’s idea is impressive. Most impressive. What do I have to say to that?

Which Star Wars viewing order will you try the next time you have a Star Wars marathon?

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Endnotes

* Again, not a spoiler. You’ve had since 1983.
^# I have a lot to say about Obi-Wan’s philosophy about the nature of Truth. That probably warrants a separate post. Or two. Heck, it might even need to be a whole series.