If you’re a Star Wars fan, you know that the debate over the best order to watch the movies is a long-standing one. But fear not, as we’re here to put that debate to bed once and for all.
Technically, there are over 360,000 different ways to watch all nine Star Wars movies. However, there are only two truly acceptable orders: episodic order and theatrical release order.
The first, episodic order, follows a chronological line from Episode I to Episode IX, starting with Anakin’s trilogy, then Luke’s trilogy, and then Rey’s trilogy. While this seems like the most logical way to watch them, it’s not the order they were made in.
On the other hand, theatrical release order is episodes IV, V, and VI, followed by I, II, and III, and then finally VII, VIII, and IX. This order allows you to experience the movies the same way most fans saw them, and it’s a fun way to see how the series evolved over time.
So, which way is best? It depends on whether you’ve already seen all the movies or not. If you have, watching them in episodic order is a fun way to take everything in and see the story and character arcs develop in one sweeping sequence. This order also gets the two worst movies, The Phantom Menace and Clone Wars, out of the way quickly.
However, if you haven’t seen all the movies or have only caught a couple, the best way to watch them is in theatrical release order. This way, you’ll experience the twists as they were intended in the original movies without getting spoiled by the prequels. Plus, Episode I assumes that viewers already know quite a bit, so having the right context is important.
There are also two wrenches that can be thrown into these watch orders: Solo and Rogue One, which are not part of the main Skywalker saga. You don’t need to watch them, but if you want to, you should place them between episodes III and IV in episodic order.
In conclusion, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong way to watch the Star Wars movies. It all depends on your personal preferences and whether you’ve already seen them. So grab some snacks, sit back, and enjoy the adventure through the galaxy far, far away.