Release order is not the droid you’re looking for! Being a “Star Wars” fan all my life, my love for this franchise has grown as I have. Now being 21 years old and a huge fan of classic films, I truly understand the importance of what film does for culture. I’m not the entertainment editor of The Outlook for nothing!
One of my favorite things about the “Star Wars” franchise is the ever-changing fan controversies and opinions. The biggest one of them all being what order to watch these films in. While some passionate fans will fight you in a lightsaber duel swearing that the correct order is to watch them how they were released. I believe those who watch them in timeline order have the higher ground on understanding the development of these films. Now before you read on, spoiler incoming!
The “Star Wars” franchise was created by film genius George Lucas. He’s responsible for the director and writer vision of “Episode IV – A New Hope,” “Episode VI – Return of the Jedi,” “Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” “Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” and “Episode III – Revenge of the Sith.” The rest of the films were heavily influenced by him and included him as a producer, even if he wasn’t directly involved in the directing or writing aspects. It’s because of this that I feel everything Lucas has created automatically goes down as the best “Star Wars” films.
Therefore, the best way to understand the universe is to start by watching “Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999). This film will give you a great introduction to the universe, the conflicts, and some of the main characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and Padmé Amidala (Natalie Portman). You get to watch the characters grow up and evolve, including Anakin Skywalker, played by Hayden Christensen in the prequels, who is as important as a character can get.
While skipping episodes one through three might protect some of the cinematic integrity and mind blowing moments, it hits even harder when you know the backstory. Sorry David Corenswet, I do not agree with your order and I insist that Darth Vader’s identity is just as jaw-dropping if you watch it in timeline order. While the mystery of who Darth Vader is, is compromised this way, Luke Skywalker’s (Mark Hamill) reaction to finding out is just as impactful.
Watching Anakin grow up on Tatooine, learning about his mom, watching him train as a jedi with Obi-Wan and fall in love with Padmé in “Episode II – Attack of the Clones,” (2002) makes the entire betrayal of him turning to the dark side so heartbreaking. It also greatly impacts the nostalgia of watching “Episode IV – A New Hope” (1977) because you see his children, Luke and Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) work against the empire and cross paths. The character development is extremely important and watching them go from innocent children to defending the galaxy.
I also feel it’s better to watch the films as one linear story. Now that all of the “Star Wars” movies are out in the world and have been for some time, there’s no need to wonder about time gaps. If you watch the films in release order, it can be quite confusing to jump back in time and piece it all together. Timeline order follows your favorite characters as if it’s in “real time.” We have the perfect rise, fall, redemption, and rebirth arc throughout every prequel, original, sequel, and spinoff.
And I truly mean it when I say the spinoffs add to the story arcs. “Star Wars” is such a complex universe with tons of characters, terminology, and plot lines, each piece of the cinematic puzzle is important, including spinoffs and mini-series’. Whether it’s the “Stars Wars: The Clone Wars” (2008) animated series or “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), if you’re invested in this franchise, you watch them all.
While the quality of the films might not make sense and be a little bit irritating, thinking of the characters and storyline first will make the bigger picture clearer. You might be wondering where you can find the correct order to start in. Luckily the “Star Wars” section on Disney+ puts all of them in order for you starting with the series “The Acolyte” (2024) which takes place before episode one. Whether you’ve seen the films a million times or have never seen a single one, take the jump to lightspeed and watch the entire series in timeline order!
