Star Wars movies: what is the right order to watch?

On December 14, 2017, the eighth film in the history of Star Wars did release. Success at the box office is expected, given that in 2015, in the previous episode, $6.5 million was raised two months before the premiere. This figure is eight times more than the old record, broken by the Hunger Games. But, the saga will only be complete in 2019.

And while these endless days of waiting have no end, the best way to pass the time is, of course, watching - or reviewing - all Star Wars movies! But in what order? Because in this post, we will indicate the best sequence options for your marathon.

Thus, anyone who has never watched the series will start on the right foot. While long-time fans will discover possibilities that go beyond the launch order or the chronological order. Curious? Then look!

Order with the launch of the Star Wars films

The doubt about the order of Star Wars films has always existed since the releases took place out of chronological order. With the new movies hitting theaters, the doubt is even more intense. So, it's worth knowing how they fit into everything that has already been released.

First of all, let's get to know the names of each one so that you don't get lost among so many numbers. Of those that have already been launched, we have:

° Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Prequel

º Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - Prequel

° Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - Prequel

° Star Wars or Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - the original trilogy

° Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - the original trilogy

° Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - the original trilogy

° Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens - the sequel

° Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Anthology

° Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi - sequel

° Solo: A Star Wars Story - Anthology

Of those that will be launched, we have:

° Star Wars Episódio IX — sequela

It will be released in December 2019 and has no official subtitle yet.

Order according to the chronology of the facts

1. Episode I

2. Episode II

4. Episode III

Anthology of Han Solo

4. Rogue One

5. Episode IV

6. Episode V

7. Episode VI

8. Episode VII

9. Episode VIII

10. Episode IX

Only in 2019, with the release of Episode IX, the order will be completely complete. When the last episode is released, you can do this marathon and see everything exactly in the order in which it happened.

If you are looking to know exactly what is the order of the facts, this is the right sequence.

For beginners

In consideration of those who have never seen the Star Wars films, first, we will list the four different ways to watch the saga and then explain why these alternative orders. So we avoid spoilers!

In these orders, the new Star Wars films are not taken into account - nor those that have already been released or those that are yet to come.

So the summary is as follows:

The chronological order - following I, II, III, IV, V, and VI - is the least recommended because it brings the biggest spoiler of the saga;

The launch order - IV, V, VI, I, II, and III - is the most popular;

The order Ernst Rister - IV, V, I, II, III, and VI - solves the problems of the previous ones;

The machete order - IV, V, VI, VII, and VIII - is perhaps the favorite of the fans, precisely because it ignores episode I.

If you have never watched the series, choose one of these orders and then come back here to understand the reason behind these alternate sequences. But beware: don't start with the obvious choice of the first order, as it will spoil the biggest surprises in the saga! The last two will guarantee an incredible experience and the second would be the most logical way.

If you don't know much about Star Wars and don't quite understand the relationship between the facts, run your first marathon in the order of launch.

From now on, be warned that we are not responsible for spoilers, okay?

So, have you found the perfect order to watch Star Wars movies? Keep an eye out that the list isn't over yet!

But, if you are a Star Wars fan and want to buy all the saga products, from movies to collector's items, with exclusive discounts, I have an incredible tip for you!

For initiates

If you are already a mega-fan or if you have just returned from your first Star Wars marathon, here is our selection - duly justified - of the main sequences to watch the saga.

All of this information will make a lot more sense if you already know about the series. So consider that - not least because there are several spoilers below.

These orders are indicated when you already know all the films released and want to take a new approach. Check if you made the best choice:

Chronological order

1. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)

2. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

3. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

4. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

5. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

6. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

7. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)

8. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)

9. Episode IX: The Rise Skywalker (2019)

The only reason to watch in that order is curiosity. So, as you've seen the whole saga, watching in chronological order can even be a good experience. For those who have never watched and do not know the biggest revelation, the biggest problem of this sequence is to spoil the surprise that Luke Skywalker is the son of Darth Vader.

Believe me: even though it seems like common sense, some do not know about this turnaround in episode V, which is even considered one of the biggest surprises in the history of cinema. To deprive people of reacting to that of these children is almost a crime!

Release order

The launch order, as much as it can be optimized - as you will see later, seemed to have no defects. That was until George Lucas released the remastered versions. Then the final scene of episode VI, in which the spirits of Luke's mentors appear and, next to Obi-Wan and Yoda, a young man appears, eventually becoming one of the big problems.

At this point, if you've seen the three films in the prequel, you know that this is young Darth Vader. But if you haven't seen them yet, you can get a little confused. Not to mention that Obi-Wan and Yoda are old and Vader appears to be in his twenties. In the original trilogy, the actor who appeared alongside the mentors was the same one who played Vader without the mask, just before his death, making it easy to connect the dots.

Order Ernst Rister

The order Ernst Rister was created to solve all these problems presented by the previous orders. In this way, you watch episodes IV and V is surprised by the revelation of Luke's father.

From there, you move on to the first three films (chronologically), avoiding the estrangement with the figure from episode VI and increasing expectations for the series' outcome. And the other three are like a kind of flashback before the end of the saga.

There are several other advantages to this order. But, as they are all present in the next possibility, the machete, we will leave to explain below why leaving episode VI last makes the movie much better.

Machete order

This way of watching the saga is practically identical to the previous one, but with a slightly drastic change: episode 1 is ignored. Although there is a certain exaggeration of the fans, The Phantom Menace is considered the worst of all Star Wars films.

The big problem with this episode is the responsibility of being the basis of the entire universe and, of course, of not meeting the unattainable expectations of the nerdy audience.

Also, The Phantom Menace brought several elements completely useless to the saga. As an example, we can mention the inexplicable midichlorians and Jar-Jar Binks - the most hated character in hexalogy -, the immaculate conception of Anakin Skywalker, among others. If you ignore the episode, most of those elements are overlooked.

The film can, however, be seen as an addendum, after watching everyone else. Do this out of pure curiosity, because despite the numerous flaws, the episode I does have its positive points. Perhaps only two are the most striking, but they are enough: the Pod race and the villain Darth Maul, the most underused character in all six films.

To connect the dots

These two final orders have a great coincidence: the strengthening of the last film in the saga, Return of the Jedi. Finding out that Luke and Leia are brothers at the end of episode III can put an end to VI's surprises. But, without a doubt, it strengthens the revelation, which becomes much more unexpected and sudden. The great asset of the film is in parallel with episode III.

Think about how much Luke Skywalker's trajectory is similar to that of his father. At the beginning of the last episode, he appears wearing black clothes, as Anakin does throughout the first (chronological) trilogy.

Then he hangs two henchmen from Jabba the Hutt using the Force - which is only done by Siths in all hexalogy, cuts off Vader's arm, just like his father does with Mace Windu, both to save the people they love.

Not to mention that the confrontation with Vader emulates the clash between his father and Count Dooku at the beginning of Episode III when Anakin begins to be manipulated by the emperor.

These factors make the viewer fear that Luke is following in his father's footsteps towards the dark side of the Force, making the final confrontation of the film much tenser.

And leaving the VI for last also values ​​the story of Master Yoda, who asks Luke not to underestimate the emperor's powers. If seen after episode III, this fight seems to be fresh in the memory of our little green friend, looking like he still feels his failure.

But, of course, all this is for those who are more than just initiated in the world of elements and stories on this subject. If this is not your case, keep the launch order to start the experiment.

Thanks for reading!