The Different Ways to Watch Star Wars (If You’ve Never Seen Them)

The international trailer for the new Star Wars movie came out today with new footage from the film. Now, I’m fully on the hype train for this movie. You don’t have to convince me to see this movie 87 times. However, there are Star Wars virgins out there (people who have never seen Star Wars, not Star Wars fans who’ve never, well, ya know). They want to get in on the excitement but they may not know where to start. With over 40 years of films, video games, comics, TV shows, action figures, pajamas, and the slight against humanity known as the Christmas special, it can be intimidating on where to jump in or how to watch the movies. Below, I’ve highlighted some of the ways to enjoy the Star Wars films.

Release Order (4/5/6, 1/2/3)

Star Wars was released in 1977 and immediately was a smash-hit. Everyone assumed that this was the first movie in the series because, well, it was the first movie in the series. That was until 1980 when The Empire Strikes Back was released and the title card read “Episode V.” People were confused as to what was happening. Turns out, audiences were near the last part of a much larger series. 1983 saw the release of the last of the original trilogy, Return of the Jedi. For 16 years, this is all the Star Wars fans had in the form of movies. That changed in 1999 with release of the hotly anticipated Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Episode III: Revenge of the Sith were released in 2002 and 2005.

An advantage to this order is that this is the order most people viewed the films in. However, it is difficult to enjoy the prequel trilogy just because the quality isn’t up to par with the original. Also, you have to see Episode I which can be quite the chore. If you want to be a Star Wars purest, this is the order to view the films just because the twist in Empire Strikes Back is still one of the most shocking moments in film history and should be experienced.

Episodic Order (1/2/3, 4/5/6)

If you watch the films in Episodic Order, you get to see the story unfold as creator George Lucas intended. You get to watch Anakin’s turn and ultimate redemption in the proper order. However, this also means getting through almost 9 hours of movies before getting to the original trilogy that is loved by everyone. On the flip side, you do get Episode I out of the way first so you don’t have to worry about having that hanging over your head the entire time you are watching. Also, Revenge of the Sith is a pretty solid film (aside from the rushed ending and Vader screaming NOOOOOOO) which is a nice way to bridge the gap between trilogies as opposed to going backwards in quality.

Machete Order (4/5, 2/3, 6)

A blogger came up with this unique way of watching Star Wars where you watch Episodes IV and V of the original trilogy, then watch Episodes II and III of the prequel trilogy, before finishing up with Episode 6. This order completely eliminates Episode I because it’s not a good Star Wars movie, not a good movie, and doesn’t do anything for the rest of the series except frustrate everyone. This order allows you to start the series where most people started, then, after the big reveal at the end of Empire Strikes Back, go back and get the back-story of that reveal. Personally, I’ve never watched them in this order but I’m definitely intrigued by this. In my head, it seems to work.

This blog was inspired by the girl I’m seeing never having seen Star Wars. We just finished up with Empire last night (we started with Episode IV: A New Hope) so we are at a crossroads of where to go next. I want to try Machete Order but I can see how that could be a bit off-putting to new viewers. There isn’t a wrong way to watch Star Wars (unless you watch Episode I and then just stop) and ultimately, that’s the best thing the films have going for them. Watch the movies, and then dive into the stuff I mentioned earlier because December is coming fast with a new movie. You don’t want to miss out on that, do you? Enjoy watching Star Wars, newbies, and may the Force be with you!