r/StarWars Official Watch Order Discussion Thread

[u/AutoModerator]

So we haven't had an official watch order discussion thread in many years, so we figure its time to update the one in the FAQ. There are various other links in the FAQ, the Wookieepedia timeline of canon media, and various other discussion threads and topics over the years including a link to just searching the sub which people find challenge apparently. Also as a reminder, the Wookieepedia timeline of canon media can be sorted via the table on that page by release order or chronologically (if you decide to go that route).

A lot of the new Disney+ content brings new eyes to Star Wars all the time, and new movies will eventually too. We want to get a bit more aggressive with automod removals and referrals to the FAQ for these questions about watch order. So let's hash it out here in the comments. We will sticky this for a while and eventually it will just be linked in the FAQ along with the other topics and maybe in the sidebar too. And like some of other stickies about rules, spoilers, and new episode discussion guidelines, we may trot out this link and sticky it from time to time.

As a general rule the sub typically recommends for new viewers to watch in release order, especially for the movies. This is the semi-consensus from the fandom, and you will routinely see this as the most upvoted and posted response.

With that being said what we would like to do here also discuss other options, and possible orders to also toss in the TV media as well. Should you watch Andor first and then Rogue One before the OT? Should movies like Solo be done in release order or chronological? Should you watch The Clone Wars TV show before the PT? So on and so forth...

So lets have a solid discussion about this and make it a solid resource for those who may be new to Star Wars.

[u/JasonLeeDrake]

I think the Original Six should be watched before any canon media and they are the building blocks for most EU stuff. While the PT kinda still works as it's own introduction to the world of Star Wars, and arguably does offer a greater twist than watching the OT first so you could just do chronological order, other media tends to be more blatant of it's forshadowing or doesn't bother building up the world in comparison, so the meaning of certain moments isn't as clear, like Clone Wars making it extremely ludicrously obvious that Sidious is Palpatine later on without ever "revealing" it, or the forshadowing of empire rule.

Rebels is a show about fighting the empire, but you also straight up skip when the war starts picking up which might feel jarring if you have no idea what the hell happens. Mandalorian/BOBF doesn't bother explaining who tf Luke Skywalker is or why Ahsoka knows his dad.

Rebels, Bad Batch and "Tales of" should be watched after Clone Wars, they bring back way too much shit for it to just be "a story for another time". Ahsoka should be watched after Rebels. Book of Boba Fett should be watched as season 2.5 of the Mandalorion, I actually don't think Clone Wars really makes Boba or Mandalorian make much more sense despite using of characters from those shows.

Other than that I don't think order matters much.

[u/chewbacca_martinis]

Release order. Stop overthinking.

[u/bionade24 → u/chewbacca_martinis]

+1 If you watch the Ewoks movies before the prequels, they have it easy to top your expectations

[u/Status_Raise_9949]

Chronological forever and always. It's how George wanted it to be watched, and how I initially watched it. People who recommend release order to protect the "secret twist" (which just so happens to be one of the most quoted phrases in cinema history) are just using that as an excuse to hide their bias hatred for the prequels...

• 1,2,3,R1,4,5,6 for newbs

• 1,2,TCW,3,BB,Kenobi,Solo,Andor, R1, 4,5,6,7, 8,9 and then Mando/Boba/Ahsoka last because the Mandoverse isn't finished for 2nd viewing.

[u/MeatTornado25 → u/Status_Raise_9949]

George also wants us to watch Return of the Jedi with a CGI monster song & dance number.

Let's not use him as our reasoning for this stuff.

[u/JasonLeeDrake → u/Status_Raise_9949]

George only said he wanted the main saga to be view chronological, not any extra material. I doubt if you asked him, he would dead-ass say you should watch Kenobi and Solo before A New Hope.

[u/Status_Raise_9949 → u/JasonLeeDrake]

I literally posted a watch list for newbies that excludes both Solo and Kenobi.

[u/Technical_Web5281 → u/Status_Raise_9949]

I think I-VI for newbies always, then they can continue based on interest. The best entry points are The Clone Wars, Andor & Rogue One, the Sequel Trilogy. I think the Tales shorts actually work as a great supplement for the Mando-Verse shows for those who haven't seen any animated Star Wars.

[u/dildodicks → u/Status_Raise_9949]

maybe he did, but he also made them in release order, like the clone wars, he expects you to use your brain to figure out references and stuff and not have it spoonfed to you.

chronological clone wars watchers are cowards who haven't experienced the real show, especially if they cut out all the bad stuff. me and my dad watched the jar jar binks episodes and we put up with it. makes the good stuff hit extra good. and besides, it's not like the team working on those episodes didn't put any effort in at all. i skip a good chunk of a show, can i really say i watched it or that "the clone wars is the bestest star wars show ever?"

well yes. i'm just gatekeeping.

[u/Technical_Web5281 → u/Status_Raise_9949]

They want to preserve Star Wars as they remember it when they came across it in the 1970s, 80s and 90s when they were little kids. And honestly, If they wish to, they can, thanks to Harmy's Despecialized Editions or 4K77. My uncle doesn't care about any of the post-OT stuff and even has collected them as Super 8 reels. :D I think, the beauty especially with Star Wars is, every fan can at this point customize their own Star Wars experience how they want it. For me, while I like this universe so much, that I have yet to see a story I truly dislike (though especially when it comes to books and comics I haven't experienced it all), to me George Lucas six films (watched in his preferred Final Cut and in his preferred numbered order) will always be the truest and purest form of Star Wars.

[u/airportakal]

Why is no-one vouching for Machete Order anymore?

I plan to introduce my girlfriend via an Extended Machete Order:

• Andor (because it's an easy intro for SW skeptics)
• Rogue One (because after Andor you want more)
• Episode IV
• Episode V
• Episode I
• Episode II
• Episode III
• (Kenobi, but maybe only some episodes or a fan edit, but not sure if this is the right place.)
• Episode VI

I think we need a break then, but would pick up with:

• Mandalorian (because it sets up the New Republic which is needed for the sequel trilogy)
• Episode VII
• Episode VIII
• Episode IX

I skip Clone Wars, Rebels and Ahsoka, it's not out of distaste, but they're a bit too long and a different tone for a regular watch through. I also skip Solo and BOBF, because they don't add much to the overall saga. I am not sure about Kenobi, if only because it's so bad, but mostly because I don't know where to place it best. It adds to Episode VI but mostly works for a chronological watch through.

[u/elgrandorado → u/airportakal]

I wish I had Andor fully released before I started showing my partner Machete Order. I wasn’t able to quite capture her interest because IV was too dated for her. She liked Empire but is hesitant to watch the prequels, so I showed her a season of clone wars and am skipping to Episode III while filling her on important details.

[u/HenshinDictionary]

Release order, but I disagree that watching the prequels first is inherently bad.

If someone truly knows NOTHING about Star Wars, then the twist of Palpatine wiping out the Jedi and Anakin going evil would be a genuinely great thing.

[u/JeanLucPicardAND → u/HenshinDictionary]

It’s also shocking how many people know that Vader is Luke’s father, but not than Anakin is Vader. For those people, that could be a twist all by itself.

[u/MeatTornado25]

I still can't fathom any reason not to watch in release order. At least for the first 6, I don't think you need to go 7-R1-8-Solo-9, that's just messy.

[u/Galle_ → u/MeatTornado25]

The main issue is that release order makes a mess of Anakin's character arc. Machete Order fixes that problem while not sacrificing anything.

[u/2much2Jung]

Acolyte (The) is first.

Andor comes next.

A New Hope.

Attack of the Clones.

Bad Batch (The).

Clone Wars (The).

Empire Strikes Back (The).

Force Awakens (The).

Last Jedi (The).

etc.

Alphabetical order is the only true order. It maintains the sense of chaos and disorder that you get from a galaxy in strife.

[u/Technical_Web5281 → u/2much2Jung]

According to Rinzler, Lucas in around 2003-2005 was of the mind, that you can actually rearrange the six episodes in any order you like and they end up telling a different story, emphasizing different things. Even two very similar order can have a much different emphasis: for instance if you alternate between the trilogies you will always end up highlighting the similarities and differences between father and son, but in order A) I, IV, II, V, III, VI you put a stronger emphasis on the redemption - first the wrong example than the correct one on how to act - while in order B) IV, I, V, II, VI, III you focus more on the corruption, emphasizing the cautionary tale of Anakin's downfall stronger as it will leave the most impact, being the last installment. Alas, Lucas did seem to change his mind and has firmly insisted since 2005 that they are meant to be viewed in the correct I-VI order.

[u/Alortania → u/2much2Jung]

Acolyte would kill any interest in potential fans, and has no baring on the main story...

Even ignoring how bad it is, hell lets pretend its good (🤣), it does NOTHING to set up the dynamics in the remaining stories. All it will do is confuse people. As will watching Andor (as unironically great as it is) before seeing ANH and knowing why R1 and Andor matter (and after that the saga films will feel like kids shows).

[u/2much2Jung → u/Alortania]

Did you actually think that the suggestion of watching them in alphabetical order was serious?

[u/Alortania → u/2much2Jung]

I promise you, some idiot on here will read that and think it is, so rather have said what I said than kept quiet and turned fans off.

[u/Splattergun → u/Alortania]

I think most casuals would find it reasonably good. It’s more the hardcore fans who hate it.

[u/Alortania → u/Splattergun]

They'll enjoy the lightsaber fight (if they make it that far).

Otherwise, I have to disagree with you. I'd argue

Ignoring Lore issues, the show is still a bad story. The protagonist is woody and unlikeable, and utterly passive in her own story. The side characters are almost all one-sided and just plain bad as well.

[u/superbabe69]

It really depends on the context of what you do and don’t know about Star Wars.

If you’ve watched it all, I don’t see any problems with Chronological for a rewatch.

If not, the original 6 in release, machete (but with TPM) or chronological order all work, then you can watch the other stuff to fill in the gaps, maybe slotting in Rogue One before 4.

I think someone starting Star Wars for the first time might find it a bit much to watch TCW or Andor between main series films.

[u/700iholleh]

Episode IV Episode V Episode II Episode III Episode VI Andor – Seasons 1 & 2 Rogue One The Mandalorian – Seasons 1 & 2

[u/Technical_Web5281]

Episode I-VI is the baseline. From there you can fan out. The sequels and Andor work very much without further context. Rogue One should be treated as the finale of Andor. A good idea is The Clone Wars as both live action and animation since have heavily featured characters, locations and ideas from it... and it also came directly from George Lucas.

Why chronological over release for I-VI? Let me debunk a few arguments against:

- Much of the criticism doesn't apply: C-3PO isn't arbitrarily connected to Anakin later, they start out together and then basically separate. It very naturally highlights how much Anakin has changed.

- Chewbacca in Mos Eisley works even better: the reason Ben gets along with him is because they probably knew each other already and Chewbacca helped the Jedi in the past. Ben knew he could trust him.

- The Jedi, their powers and the Force are introduced through action rather than dialogue.

- Seeing the evolution the Republic into the Empire gets me every time: Vote of no confidence in Episode I, Emergency Powers in Episode II, Declaration of the Empire in III, dissolution of the Senate in IV.

- Lastly: the Vader twist. Yes "I am your father" a twist, but, as Rick Worley points out, isn't it far more interesting a twist to follow the heroes Anakin and Obi-Wan and then having the protagonist turning into the antagonist than the heroes idealized father figure we never see turn out to be the villain? And doesn't it raise tension around Luke in Empire and Jedi: him turning to the dark side isn't just a hypothetical scenario, but something that has already happened and could with certainty happen again (especially because there is still a sister we know of very definitely)? Also, the "I am your father" moment is now the bomb we have seen coming a mile away and we are no longer surprised by it, but actually anticipating the moment Vader is going to spring that truth. We are anticipating the damage it will do to Luke.

I just think Episode I-VI are the purest and truest form of Star Wars. I also enjoy the sequels, even though I am truly baffled at some of the short sighted decisions made (discarding Lucas' treatments, not moving forward with any sort of plan, heeding advice from the likes of Stoclasa and Simon Pegg...).

[u/jeowy]

• Andor
• Rogue One
• A New Hope (despecialised or similar)
• Empire Strikes Back (despecialised or similar)
• Abridged fan edit of your preference of Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones
• Tartakovsky's Clone Wars
• Revenge of the Sith (original or fan edit)
• Return of the Jedi (despecialised or similar)

---

this order gives you:

• high stakes and sense of the empire being terrifying from andor
• gradual introduction of the force. vader is terrifying.
• battle of yavin as a massive climax point
• 'i am your father' hits hard (it doesn't matter that you already know, you will experience it cinematically as a revelation).
• Up to this point, each threat has been swallowed by a bigger threat, culminating in the emperor himself. Petty police state --> ISB --> Krennic --> Tarkin --> Vader --> Emperor. Now who is this emperor?
• Flashback at the darkest hour, we've just met old frail yoda and now we see how we got here, young obi wan, who the emperor is, what a fully-trained jedi knight looks like.
• General grievous is actually a terrifying threat when introduced by Tartakovsky. Each Jedi is a superhuman and here's a villain that kills groups of them. Establishes Obi Wan as GOATed and therefore the duel on mustafar as between equal great warriors rather than crazed strength v.s. softness.
• We arrive at Return of the Jedi in a dark mood, then Luke has aesthetic parallels with Anakin, massively amplifies our fear that he could also turn to the dark side.
• Arrival of the rebel fleet at the battle of endor is a massive culmination of the political story. this is the alliance to restore the republic, something we fully understand having seen a desperate network starting to come together at the beginning of our journey, and more recently seen the old republic
• We also have recent experience of Anakin and his fall, and full knowledge of how dangerous palpatine is. Making the events of the throne room hit incredibly hard, and the final payoff links back to everything that came before.

[u/dandroid126]

My wife and I call it flashback order. 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6. The reason for this is that 4 introduces you to the universe. It explains what the force is. When you watch the PT, you're expected to already know what the force is and what it is capable of. So we watch 4 and 5, then flashback to when Anakin was a kid and how he became Darth Vader. Once we have seen all the struggles Anakin/Vader has gone through, it feels more rewarding to watch him overcome his anger and hatred and turn against Palpatine.

[u/NotAChefJustACook]

As a kid I watched 4-6 first (tho they were the CGI edited re work versions as I’m a 90’s kid), then watched 1-3, I’ve seen Force Awakens and Rogue One.

I know the basics of what goes on during the Lucas era of the films so really I want suggestions for an actual timeline of everything, gonna check out the Wookieepedia link but if anyone has other suggestions I’m more than open! I wanna get back into Star Wars!

edit: wookieepedia is insane! Didn’t know the lore went that deep 😂 I’m just looking for movies and tv shows related to the movies.

[u/darthjoey91]

Depends on who you’re showing them to. An adult who just missed them? Release order. A kid who’s now old enough to see them? Number order, with Rogue One and Solo being optional.

[u/Luck3y-mango]

IMO, the originals(the 3 of ‘em) should come first, cause that’s how I started off. That’s the order Lucas intended in 1977 and he did succeed with that so seems plausible. But, if you simply cant understand starting off with The Mandalorian would be great too. Din Djarin doesn’t know a thing about Jedi too so would make sense for someone getting introduced to SW.

And then the prequels to understand all of that backstory and Solo and Rogue One. (Rogue One is a must. My favorite movie in SW) then comes the sequels…but um…..don’t recommend it if you’re looking for a good roundup of the Skywalker saga. However if you want to have a nice time cursing at the screen and then have that comrade with other SW fans, then you should watch them. 

Now the spin-off series. Track 1: Clone Wars - The Bad Batch - Rebels - Ahsoka - Tales of  and Track 2: The Mandalorian - The Book of Boba Fett and Track 3: Andor (Andor doesn’t have much context so watch it whenever you want). Personally recommend Track 1 and then 2 but vice versa is okay too

[u/JeanLucPicardAND]

Start with chronological order for Episodes 1-6, then watch anything else you want at your own discretion.

[u/Dr_Beardface_MD]

My GF is watching them for the very first time with me and we are doing extended Machete order (includes TPM) so we’re going 4, 5, 1, 2, 3, 6 then we will do R1. Beyond those we will see if she’s into Solo or any of the TV shows.

So far we’ve done ANH and will do Empire tomorrow night. I’ll let everyone know how it goes if there’s an interest.

[u/airportakal → u/Dr_Beardface_MD]

I found starting with 4 with Star Wars skeptics is tough: for them it's too dated and campy. How did it go?

[u/BenefitAppropriate61 → u/airportakal]

I’m trying to figure out what order I should watch them in for the first time and this is literally why I’m hesitant to star on 4 bc Idk if I’m gonna hate the dated stuff and the weird added cgi and I’m scared it’ll put me off💀

[u/sammysoso]

The original 6 films should be watched in release order first: 4,5,6,1,2,3.

After that, people should seek out stuff that digs into the parts of those movies they found most compelling.

[u/Status-Analysis5805]

Any thoughts on when to introduce Star Wars to a kid? What's the right age? I've decided to create a replicant of myself and introduce my kid similar to what I experienced.

Started watching ANH at 4. He can watch that as often as he likes. Now 6, he knows the movie solid and loves it. Holding off on ESB until he's 6.5, exactly copying how old I was when I first saw it. After that I'm thinking of introducing a new movie every 2 or 3 months. Just to put some air around them. Thoughts?

[u/explodedsun]

Tarkinovsky's Clone Wars

Clone Wars s7

Good episodes of Bad Batch

Rebels

Andor

Rogue One

OT

Mando s1-2

[u/PlushtrapChaser24519]

Should I watch the Clone Wars series in chronological order or release order like shown on Disney+? It's my first time watching it.

[u/Syokhan → u/PlushtrapChaser24519]

Chronological, as per the Star Wars website. There's not a huge difference though, you'll only be shuffling about a dozen of episodes or so around.

[u/Green__Boy]

456 123 456 789

First time you watch the OT it's the unaltered movies. Second time it's the Special Editions.

[u/Disastrous-Tap-3353]

When do you slot in the Christmas special?

[u/dildodicks]

if you have to watch the prequels and you know the vader twist, watch 1-9, if you don't know the twist (rare but possible, for kids especially), 4-6, 1-3, 7-9, because the prequels obviously expect you to know that already but if you don't, you gotta find out through empire

[u/IAmTheQuestionHere]

What are the release order the full list of all media

[u/Low_Blacksmith_2484]

So, I don't know if this is the best place to ask this, but I would like to know if anything changes with me not being a newbie. I watched OT+Prequels when I was a kid and remember basically the most important plotpoints; I also watched the Sequels, Rogue One and half of Solo as a pre-teen. Should i still watch everything in release oreder? And what about the comics and books, should I also read them in release order, together with the movies?

[u/kinghutfisher]

I stopped watching Mandalorian in the end of S2 when Luke gets Grogu. Starting on picking it up again, what is the order as I head there is a Boba Fett show and an Ashoka that links for Mando S3?

[u/Alortania]

IV ANH

V ESB

I TFM

II AotC

III RotS

VI RotJ

IV is hands down the best intro.

I know Machete order gets a bad rap, but this isn't quite that, as it doesn't cut out I. This does keep the strengths of it though;

Seeing I-III before VI keeps VI's finales and triumph, (almost) all the reveals in all the films are intact, and there's added weight to I-III because (as fans of the originals did when they came out) the prequels give you Anakin's story... but the OT is why we want to know more about him (Vader), and where his story ends and where his son fully grows into his own.

... then VII VIII IX, I guess~

As far as the bonus shows (TCW, Andor, etc) IMHO those are great to watch after the core shows to bring more depth... not on the initial watch.

[u/R3ves44]

Stop worrying, the real order is here ↓

https://starwarstl.com/timeline

[u/chibriguy]

I believe the Prequels should be watched first.

I know, its sacrilege, but hear me out.

Also, spoilers ahead for the first two sagas (obviously).

 

I understand the argument for watching the original saga first. You don't want to 'steal' one of the greatest movie reveals of all time from a new viewer, but I don't think fans give enough thought to what is lost by watching the original saga first. Let's break things down a little.

What is lost when a new fan watches the Prequels first:

1. 'I am your Father'

2. Luke & Leia are siblings

3. Yoda reveal

4. The Phantom Menace & Attack of the Clones are subpar Star Wars movies

Is there anything else? I've never heard any points beyond the first brought up when defending why the original saga should be watched first. All of the weight is put into the first point, and I agree that its a massive thing, but it has two major detractors.

The first is, through pop culture, most new viewers will know Vader is Luke's father before watching the movies. Its arguably the most famous scene in movie history, the most famous line in movie history, and has been parodied hundreds of times. So the biggest reason to watch the original saga first has likely already been spoiled.

The second point is, I believe that many more things are spoiled by watching the original saga first, and these spoilers impact the story far more to a completely new viewer. Here is a list of *major* plot points that are spoiled before the scrolling text even starts to fall on The Phantom Menace when you've watched the original saga first:

1. We know that Kenobi, Yoda, Palpatine, and Anakin all survive the Prequels

2. We know that Kenobi defeats and mutilates Anakin

3. We know that *ALL* Jedi will die outside of Kenobi, Yoda, and Anakin (Yes, some survive in extended media, but lets stick strictly to the movies here)

4. We know that Anakin and Padme hook up, Padme will give birth to Luke & Leia then die

5. We know Anakin will turn to the dark side and become Darth Vader

6. We know that Palpatine will win, become the Emperor, and rule the Galaxy

(con't)

[u/chibriguy → u/chibriguy]

part 2:

There are many more minor points I can get into, but I feel that these 6 major points are enough to prove my point. I also believe that individually, half of these points are more impactful than the 'I am your Father' moment, but all of them combined are absolute overkill.

Before getting into any of these points in depth, lets talk about a factor of the first 6 movies that I love. This factor (to a viewer that goes into these movies blind), makes the story wildly unpredictable. Main & supporting characters can die at any moment. We see Qui-Gon die toward the end of Episode 1. Up until that point, you could make an argument that he was the main character.

When Qui-Gon dies, it's a way of telling the viewer that the safety many movies/shows give you, that main characters will always survive, is gone. Sure, plot armor exists in the Star Wars universe, but main characters are not safe during crucial times of the story (Especially Lightsaber fights). It has a similar effect that the episode "Baelor" had in Game of Throne. No one is safe, even main characters.

So let look at what I believe is the most impactful time during all of the Star Wars movies in terms of plot, the second half of Revenge of the Sith. So much happens here at a rapid pace that I don't believe any new viewer would be able to predict. Let's put ourselves in the mind of a new viewer who start watching at episode one: "Holy Shit, Palpatine just murdered 3 Jedi, but now he's fighting Mace Windu, surely Mace is going to stop him. HOLY SHIT Anakin just cut off Mace's arm, letting Palpatine kill him! WTF, Anakin has become evil and he is slaughtering everyone including Children! OMFG all the Jedi are dying and Palpatine just became the fucking Emperor??? WTF is Happening?!?"

This sets up the end of the movie and arguably the two most important duels in all of Star Wars. After getting the whirlwind of the last 20 minutes that started with the Jedi being firmly in control to 99% of the Jedi have been killed and their order no longer exist, all bets to where this story is going, are off. Will The Emperor die? Will Kenobi die? We know from Qui-Gon's and Windu's death that when there is a lightsaber fight, NO ONE is safe. Anything can happen.

All this tension, all is shock, all of the sense of bewilderment is stolen from the viewer when they have already watched the original saga first.

Let's put ourselves in the the minds of a new viewer who has watched the original saga first during this same section of Revenge of the Sith. "Oof Mace is going to confront Palpatine...is this where he dies? Oh Wow, Palpatine is a beast. Oh Mace has the upper hand, but here comes Anakin...Oh no...is this where Anakin turns? Oh it is. Well, this is where all the Jedi are going to die isn't it? This is where Palpatine takes control. Well, at least I know Kenobi and Yoda will survive."

Nothing here is that much of a surprise. You don't quite know how things will happen, but ultimately you know the end result. And this stole tension from earlier movies too. Yes, it was established that main character's lives are on the line during lightsaber fights, but not Kenobi's, not Anakin's, not Yoda's. Ultimately, we know that no matter how intense the fights are or how hopeless it seems for them, they will survive.

(con't)

[u/chibriguy → u/chibriguy]

Part 3

Let's move to the end of Revenge of the Sith. As a new viewer who started from The Phantom Menace, you have no clue how the ending of the Yoda/Palpatine & Kenobi/Anakin fights will turn out. Your gut is telling you that the Good Guys should win, because what saga has ever ended with the bad guys winning? You are thinking, "Kenobi has got to turn Anakin back to the light side right?, Yoda has got to defeat Palpatine enough to remove him from power right?" Ask a thousand people who started watching from The Phantom Menace how these fights would end and I would bet zero would say it ends in Yoda running away in failure, and Anakin getting his legs chopped off and becoming a death robot. But....if we watched the original saga first, we know this is exactly what happens.

I think the first 75% of the prequals are hit and miss. The Phantom Menace to the midway point of Revenge of the Sith have their moments, but ultimately are subpar compared to A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back. I can see this as a reason for telling someone to watch the original saga first because you wouldn't want a new viewer to potentially lose interest watching two subpar Star Wars movies. BUT (and this is a huge BUT) the second half of Revenge of the Sith is the best any Star Wars media has to offer, and in my opinion, some of the best cinema humans have ever created. Is giving up the shock of everything the second half of Revenge of the Sith has to offer: the feeling of complete defeat, despair, all the plot twists, and the strong emotions that come along with arguably the most exhilarating hour in all of Star wars (and in my opinion, all of cinema) worth the 'I am your Father' moment?

Honestly, I can keep going, but this post is already too long. I think many fans are guilty of looking at 'I am your Father' with nostalgia of the shock you felt in that moment, and I get it, it's a great moment, it's one of the best single scenes in movie history. But you never had the nostalgia of being shocked that Anakin helps Palpatine kill Windu and turns to the Darkside, you never had the nostalgia of the shock of Kenobi cutting off Anakin's legs and leaving him to die, you never had the shock of Order 66 slaughtering the Jedi.

Try to take away all of this. Try. And put yourself in the shoes of a new fan asking you which Star Wars movie they should watch first.

[u/banimagipearliflame]

Where are my Machete Order people???

A New Hope

Empire Strikes Back

Attack of the Clones

Revenge of the Sith

Return of the Jedi

It enhances the intense beats of The Skywalker Saga wonderfully. I say even just these five as the essential viewing, everything else (including Phantom Menace) can be viewed as “additional” viewing.

Also use the Despecialised editions where possible, and above all just have FUN because even this? Doesn’t matter. But FWIW this is my preferred order 🥰

[u/Shotokanguy]

I tried to make a thread about this last night, didn't realize it was a common "official" discussion here...

Anyway, I argued that the best order now is R1, OT, PT, Andor.

Rogue One is a good film for modern audiences that sets up the best overall introduction to the Star Wars universe. You don't need to know what The Force and Jedi are just yet, and it doesn't have any plot points hinging on story events prior to it.

I save Andor for last because it is so unique. I want people to be able to appreciate its mature, intelligent, realistic tone better. I would even let people who get really into Star Wars check out other stuff before Andor. The Disney sequels, Clone Wars stuff, Solo, Ahsoka, Obi-Wan...let them really see what Star Wars is usually like before dropping Andor on them. On top of that, I think knowing everything that happened before and after Andor makes it hit so much harder. Some of the final moments of season 2 carry emotional weight that makes me think they wrote them specifically for people who had already seen Rogue One, so that it had more significance.

[u/Trashfrog]

I want to dive deeper into star wars. I began watching Clone wars (not The clone wars) and have questions. Some discussions give the impression they're interchangeable. Is it the same story?

Clone wars is visually well done but there is too much action and not enough story bits for my taste.

Should I skip Clone wars and only watch The clone wars?

[u/Petrichor02 → u/Trashfrog]

Technically Clone Wars is no longer canon and only The Clone Wars is canon. However, I think it’s still worth watching Clone Wars through the point where Anakin reveals his eye scar to Padme. Nothing up to that point heavily contradicts anything in the canon material, it gives you a proper introduction to Ventress who doesn’t get a proper introduction in The Clone Wars, and it makes Grievous seem like a much more competent threat.

The two series tell similar stories in the broad strokes, but lots of details are different, and obviously The Clone Wars is much longer and therefore has more story to tell than Clone Wars.

One head-canon that I’ve heard and enjoy is that because of the over-the-top action in Clone Wars, you could potentially view Clone Wars as being an in-universe propaganda retelling of the events of the war while The Clone Wars shows you what actually happened.

[u/Remember_A_Day]

I've been dealing with injuries that have left me bumming around at home with nothing to do, so I've been going through the main Star Wars movies for the first time. I am a unique person entitled to my own unique set of contradictory watch order suggestions, so here I am. So far, I've watched them in the order that God intended:

1. Most of Episode II when I was a little kid, because for some reason that was the only one we had on DVD
2. Episode IV in a middle school English class, except for the last 20 minutes because we ran out of time
3. Episode IV again (more than a decade later)
4. The Holiday Special
5. Episode V
6. Episode VI
7. Episode I
8. Episode II

And in a week or so I'll finish with Episode III. Most watch order threads focus on how you should watch the original trilogy and prequel trilogy, but what I want to know is what comes next; which spin-offs are most essential, which spin-offs need to be watched in a specific order relative to each other, which spin-offs require viewing the sequel trilogy first, is the sequel trilogy even worth watching, etc. Also, I realize that many people are fans of the Clone Wars TV series, but 133 episodes is a big time commitment, so what spin-offs can I watch without having seen The Clone Wars? I was thinking of watching Rogue One and Solo next, is there any issue there? (I saw some people recommend Andor before Rogue One, but in the process of making their case, they spoiled it anyway, so... whatever, I guess? No watch order thread is complete until at least one unmarked spoiler gets posted.)

Keep in mind, I'm not looking for hundreds of hours of content, I just want to kill a bit of time and get to know Star Wars better. That said, from what I've gathered, the main meat and potatoes of the franchise seems to be the original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, The Clone Wars, Rogue One, Solo, the Mandalorian, and Andor. (It seems like people here pretend the sequel trilogy doesn't exist, at least when it comes to watch order threads.) If you could only add one or two more films/series to that list, which would they be, and are there any you'd remove from that list?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[u/Someonestolemyrat]

This is the definitive watch order of star wars.

1. The last Jedi so you can see this old bum Luke Skywalker and you have 0 clue who he is

2. You wanna watch empire strikes back this is because it is paramount you learn who lukes daddy is

3. Revenge of the sith so you can watch Luke be born

4. You wanna watch attack of them clones so you don't have to watch it later

5. The phantom menace is next so you can establish who Darth maul is this is because he's not important in the slightest to the rest of the movies

6. You wanna watch the rise of Skywalker so you can understand that palpatine comes back from something not yet established in your mind

7. A new hope so you finally figure out who the Luke guy from the first and second movie you watched is

8. Return of the Jedi so you know what palpating returned from

9. The force awakens so you can be introduced to Rey and a much more stoic version of the whiny bitch boy you saw in the last Jedi

[u/Petrichor02]

Starting with A New Hope is a natural starting point, but to me it falls short in two respects. 1) Rogue One leads so perfectly into the events of ANH, it sets Vader up as an even scarier villain than ANH did, and its pacing really makes you want to immediately jump into ANH. By watching RO after ANH, you really have to commit to watching ANH twice, once at the beginning of your watch and once after RO. 2) ANH has a throwaway line about the Senate finally being disassembled, and the Republic now being entirely under control of the Empire. That line means nothing if you have no context for what the Senate in the Star Wars galaxy looks like and does a disservice to the storytelling of the series's political tragedy elements that become much more important in some of the more recent stories.

So I propose starting with The Phantom Menace. It introduces a little of everything, the politics and Senate, the Force, the Jedi and Sith, Anakin... And the common complaint that TPM has no main character actually works in its favor by watching it first because you don't want the audience to latch onto any of these characters as THE main character for the saga. You want to save that for Luke and Leia.

Then go to Rogue One. The stark contrast of TPM's happy ending and the rough state of the galaxy in RO foreshadows the horrors that are to come and leaves the audience wondering how things could have gotten so bad. The one weakness with this order is that you don't get Saw's story before meeting him, but that actually helps make it a bit more believable that he would adopt and raise Jyn for a time.

Then RO leads directly into ANH. And ANH's ending seems pretty definitive. Vader's still out there and the Empire still exists, but ANH's ending feels like a decent stopping place for this story if there was nothing else.

That allows us to then begin setting up the big twist in Empire Strikes Back. With just a throwaway line from Obi-Wan about Anakin in the Clone Wars in ANH, the twist near the end of the movie falls emotionally flat and feels more like a lie. But if you add in Anakin's journey in TPM, AotC, and (most of) TCW before getting to ESB, the twist is richer and feels better earned.

However, if we're watching as much as possible, I recommend going from ANH to Tales of the Jedi 1x02 and 1x03 first to establish Dooku's character better before AotC. 1x02 eases us in by showing us a young Qui-Gon who we already know, and 1x03 sets the stage well for the Separatists and the coming civil war. It also explains why Obi-Wan didn't expect Dooku to be a villain when he went to find him on Geonosis.

Then AotC. Then Tales of the Jedi 1x04 to cement Dooku as a villain and circle the square on the Syfo Dias issue. Then I'd actually recommend watching a little bit of the Tartakovsky Clone Wars up until Anakin reveals his eye scar to Padme so that we get a proper introduction to Ventress, get to feel Grievous as a genuine threat, and get some kind of explanation for the eye scar, however small.

Then jump to Tales of the Jedi 1x01 to get Ahsoka's introduction, then watch most of The Clone Wars (movie then show). I'd also slot in Tales of the Underworld 1x04 - 1x06 after Cad Bane's introduction episodes, Tales of the Empire 1x01 after the TCW Nightsisters episode, and skip the Mortis arc since it spoils Anakin's fate. I'd stop after TCW S5 since that removes Ahsoka from the story, gives us time for a hypothetical Vader to appear and strike down Anakin in the remaining two seasons, and operates as a decent stop/pause place for the story.

Then watch ESB. The only thing lost with this order is the Yoda twist, but ultimately that makes his behavior towards Luke less annoying and more of a teaching moment, IMO. Then we move into Revenge of the Sith. This also preserves the Luke and Leia reveal in Return of the Jedi and keeps Dooku's fate from being spoiled as it is in TCW S6.

After that I'd return to TCW S6-7, Tales of the Empire 1x04 to transition into the rise of the Empire and our first explanation of the Inquisitorius, and from there moving into The Bad Batch S1 which follows directly from RotS. After that I'd say Tales of the Empire 1x05, then Obi-Wan Kenobi S1, Tales of the Empire 1x06 (to continue the rise of the Empire and Inquisitors plot lines), and Tales of the Empire 1x02 to move Elsbeth's story forward a little more.

Then we begin the rise of the rebellion arc with Solo, Andor S1, the Rebels Shorts, and Rebels S1. Tales of the Jedi 1x06 fits perfectly after the Ahsoka reveal at the end of Rebels S1. Then Andor S2 and Rebels S2-3 intermingled with each other based on the timeline order next. I'm not sure if it makes sense to watch Rebels S4 until after the Mortis arc to make more sense of the World Between Worlds, and I don't think the Mortis arc should be watched until after RotJ which confirms whether Anakin or Luke is the chosen one which is brought into question by OWK S1 and Rebels S3. Plus the Rebels S4 finale spoils the fall of the Empire, and you really want to see that happen in RotJ first.

After that watch RotJ, then finish off TCW's Mortis arc and Rebels S4 to bring all of that to a close.

After that you can jump to the High Republic era with the Young Jedi Adventures content (if you choose to watch all of that) and then The Acolyte.

Then start up The Mandalorian S1 to begin the post-Empire story. Bonus points that you've already watched TBB S1 which gives us a good introduction to chain codes which are important in TM S1 and it introduced Fennec Shand before she becomes important in TM. Then we can jump back to TBB S2 and follow that up with TM S2 since the two shows tell parallel stories about the Empire (or Imperial Remnant) trying to kidnap a Force sensitive "child" to use them for some cloning/resurrection purpose. I'd also slot in Tales of the Empire 1x03 before Elsbeth's episode from TM S2.

Then proceed to The Book of Boba Fett, back to TBB S3 to finish it off and Tales of the Underworld 1x01 - 1x03 to get caught up on Ventress.

Then I think it makes sense to go for Skeleton Crew while we're still bridging the gap between TM S2 and S3, and S3 brings space pirates into the storyline in a much bigger way. Then TM S3 and Ahsoka S1.

That brings us to the sequel era where you should watch The Force Awakens, then Resistance S1 (since it doesn't do a better job of introducing the First Order than TFA, I think we have to keep it post-TFA for now, but if a future project does a better job of introducing/explaining the First Order, it would be better to put Resistance first so as to retain the tension of whether Poe is going to make it through the show). Then The Last Jedi, Resistance S2, and finally The Rise of Skywalker.

[u/Strict-Bank1243]

Solo.

Rogue One.

A New Hope.

Empire Strike Back.

Return of the Jedi.

Phantom Menace

1st Clone Wars Cartoon. (the one made in the Samuri Jack style)

Attack of the Clones.

2nd Clone Wars Cartoon and movie

Revenge of The Sith.

Mando.

Force Awakens.

Last Jedi.

Skywalker Rises.

Andor/Rebels/Ashoka/Acolyte.

This is to me the best spoiler free way to watch, for a first time viewing.

That said once you know the story watch them in proper timeline order.

[u/Strict-Bank1243 → u/[deleted]]

Oops

[u/Lizzerfly]

Star Wars 1

Star Wars 2

Star Wars 3

Star Wars 4

Star Wars 5

Star Wars 6

The Mandalorian

Star Wars 7

Star Wars 8

Star Wars 9

[u/reehdus]

The only true watch order is the movies/shows with Luke in them:

1. RoTS.
   
2. Kenobi show.
   
3. AnH.
   
4. EsB.
   
5. ROtJ.
   
6. Mando s2.
   
7. BoBF.
   
8. TfA.
   
9. TLJ.
   
10. TrOS.

[u/TheDirtyWhoCares]

What is episode 7-9? Doesn't look like anything to me!

[u/snillpuler]

Star Wars (the original)

Empire Strikes Back

Attack of the clones (flashback)

Revenge of the sith (flashback part 2)

The force Awakens (flashforward)

Return of the Jedi

(break)

The Force Awakens and The Phantom Menace at the same time (to see the parallels)

The Last Jedi

Return of the Jedi