ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
edited January 2020
The Definitive Star Wars Viewing Order, 2020 Edition
A New Hope
Rogue One
The Empire Strikes Back
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
The Clone Wars (series (which includes the movie anyway)), chronological order
Revenge of the Sith
Rebels (except the final scene)
Return of the Jedi
Rebels (the final scene)
The Mandalorian
Solo
The Force Awakens
Resistance season 1
The Last Jedi
Resistance season 2
The Rise of Skywalker
It looks like a variation of the Machette order (4-5-2-3-6)
Preserves the "I am your father" twist of the OT
Preserves the "Palpatine is Sideous and becomes the emperor" arc from the PT.
Due to this a bunch of stuff gets plopped into the "between Empire and Jedi" space.
Everything else appears to be roughly chronological order, within that framework (i.e. shoving a ton of stuff in-between 5 and 6) aside from Solo (which your guess is as good as mine) and Rogue One (which should go before ANH, but I imagine they wanted ANH to go first)
IMO, there isn't a catch-all watch order. One question that should be asked is who is watching this? Is it someone who has seen them before? Is it someone who hasn't watched the movies but has absorbed some of it through cultural osmosis? Is it a child watching the movies for the first time?
Also should be asked is if the viewer prefers action? Are they okay with movies slowing down? How invested they want to be? Are they the "watch everything" kind of person? Or do they just want to watch one film to see what all the hype is about? Do they want a modern spectacle or are they okay with something that's a bit more dated?
Got tickets to go to Galaxy's Edge in a week or so. Pretty hyped. Got me a reservation to build a lightsaber.
report back, i'm 90% of the way to convince my SO that we should do this this year instead of next
I live a few hours away so please tell me if you think it’s worth it . I’ve been thinking about it myself.
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JimothyNot in front of the foxhe's with the owlRegistered Userregular
edited January 2020
I would always recommend release order, but I actually like that order as a thought experiment. I can see why all their choices were made
(R1 is “you just saw what the stolen Death Star plans yielded, now flashback and see all the people that had to fight and die to make that happen,” Solo is a flashback to get to know Han better before he dies)
But don’t break up a single TV show into pieces like that and also probably just do the shows as a separate thing, come on
Mando’s only begun to dive into it, but Clone Wars-Rebels-Mando have their own throughline, characters, objects, plots that they share. Enough to be thought of as a separate thing to be viewed in order after you’ve been informed by watching the movies
Or you know, just watch the films in release order and the shows whenever you can
Jimothy on
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JimothyNot in front of the foxhe's with the owlRegistered Userregular
In fact, jumping around the timeline for narrative purposes is cool enough that it’s a weird choice to place the TV shows chronologically, pick one or the other
In fact, jumping around the timeline for narrative purposes is cool enough that it’s a weird choice to place the TV shows chronologically, pick one or the other
(Do not pick chronological, it’s dumb)
I watch chronological when I marathoner it . I enjoy it /shrug
Does Machete order actually preserve the “Palpatine becomes the Emperor” thing?
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
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Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
Does Machete order actually preserve the “Palpatine becomes the Emperor” thing?
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
It isn't much of a twist if you ask me, even as presented in the movies.
Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but dies in the process.
Does Machete order actually preserve the “Palpatine becomes the Emperor” thing?
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
It isn't much of a twist if you ask me, even as presented in the movies.
I mean, small children seem surprised by it when shown the Machete order.
The way the prequels (and the EU at the time) never broke kayfabe on Palpatine being Sidious until it's "revealed" in Revenge of the Sith is one of my favorite things about them.
The way the prequels (and the EU at the time) never broke kayfabe on Palpatine being Sidious until it's "revealed" in Revenge of the Sith is one of my favorite things about them.
but then they fail (IMO) by having his withering occur on-screen, from a single fight, rather than the (un)natural result of just being an evil space wizard, simultaneously fueled/sustained and corrupted by dark magics, over the course of the intervening 15-20 years.
Does Machete order actually preserve the “Palpatine becomes the Emperor” thing?
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
It isn't much of a twist if you ask me, even as presented in the movies.
i don't think it's even meant to be, i mean, the movies weren't made with no one being aware of the original trilogy
every scene with palpatine is meant to be interpreted through the lens of dramatic irony, the audience's knowledge of something the characters don't know. attempts to turn it into a twist are not necessarily an incorrect way of watching it, but it is a creation of something new rather than some sort of "pure" viewing order
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Bloods EndBlade of TyshallePunch dimensionRegistered Userregular
In fact, jumping around the timeline for narrative purposes is cool enough that it’s a weird choice to place the TV shows chronologically, pick one or the other
uphill battle to even make them realize palpatine is the same person in all 3 movies
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
It's not explicitly meant as a surprise and it's not even a little bit hidden, given that it's the same actor and all
But they never say his name in the original trilogy, and I could totally see someone that is somehow new to the series who hasn't been exposed to all the supplemental bullshit wouldn't know immediately that it's the same dude
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ShadowenSnores in the morningLoserdomRegistered Userregular
I would always recommend release order, but I actually like that order as a thought experiment. I can see why all their choices were made
(R1 is “you just saw what the stolen Death Star plans yielded, now flashback and see all the people that had to fight and die to make that happen,” Solo is a flashback to get to know Han better before he dies)
But don’t break up a single TV show into pieces like that and also probably just do the shows as a separate thing, come on
Mando’s only begun to dive into it, but Clone Wars-Rebels-Mando have their own throughline, characters, objects, plots that they share. Enough to be thought of as a separate thing to be viewed in order after you’ve been informed by watching the movies
Or you know, just watch the films in release order and the shows whenever you can
This is not meant to be "we're having a Star Wars marathon over a couple of days!" This is meant to be "this person has never seen Star Wars and knows nothing of it beyond cultural osmosis, but has expressed a deep interest, so we are going to dump enough content in their lap that their free time is going to be sorted for the next couple of months."
My reasoning is as follows: the Machete Order (which this cribs heavily off of, thematically at least) is designed to preserve the twist of "No, I am your father" for people who have never seen Star Wars, while also not making the prequels feel like the long, poorly-made appendix they mostly are if you've already seen Return of the Jedi. You get the "I am your father" revelation, then go back to see how it happened, and then you go to Jedi to see how the story ends.
I include the shows as part of the larger watch order, despite their much greater length, because while the theory of the Machete Order is sound, it still has to contend with the reality of the prequels. Clone Wars does more to explain the tragic heroism of Anakin Skywalker than all the prequels combined do, and not just because the show had more time to work with. If anything you could probably remove TPM and AOTC entirely, and just use Clone Wars and Revenge. But if you're going to include any show at all, unless you cut it down to just the most thematic five or six episodes (not a bad idea but beyond the scope of a list I made in three minutes), then you've already conceded the length battle, so you might as well throw in the other shows too. I suppose if you wanted you could clip out some of the one-offs that don't move the plot forward, but again, a lot of work for a three-minute list, and given how much good stuff there is in Clone Wars and that TPM and AOTC are still in the watch order I'm not too bothered about 20 mediocre minutes here or there. You can also watch Clone Wars in release order, but I decided to make it chronological because there's already a fair amount of timejumping in this watch order.
Meanwhile, including the end montage of Rebels spoils, however slightly, the end of Return of the Jedi. Keeping it until after you see Return also puts your mind back into the Filoni vision of the universe so you can jump into Mandalorian right after. Resistance season 1 explicitly starts before Force Awakens and season 2 ends after Last Jedi, so certain major events are spoiled if you watch them in a block before either of them. I suppose if you wanted you could put them before Rise but after TLJ.
You're correct about my reasoning re: Solo and Rogue One, with the follow additions:
1. There is simply no narrative point to watching Solo at any other point before he dies and watching it after TFA breaks what little flow the content set in the sequel trilogy has, while waiting until after Rise has only the benefit of getting to finish off the saga with a somewhat better movie than IX
2. In addition to working best as a companion piece to ANH, Rogue One spoils basically nothing of the larger saga but gives a few early-bird cameos to things like the Mon Cals and Mustafar
Also, this is the 2020 Watch Order, in the same way that a car released in May of 2019 is the 2020 model of that car. i.e., It includes all relevant* Star Wars content up to 1 January 2020. As long as more Star Wars keeps being made, it will need to be adjusted in the future. (e.g., in the future, the Clone Wars entry will likely include season 7, which comes out in February, unless certain things happen in that season that wreck the point of the watch order)
*Relevant here meaning "canonical material that enough people have seen", which excludes the Holiday Special, the Ewoks and Droids movies and cartoons, anything prior to the Disney buyout not named Clone Wars, and the novels and comic books printed since.
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Der Waffle MousBlame this on the misfortune of your birth.New Yark, New Yark.Registered Userregular
Munkus BeaverYou don't have to attend every argument you are invited to.Philosophy: Stoicism. Politics: Democratic SocialistRegistered User, ClubPAregular
It's very easy to surprise small children, they're notoriously stupid
I thought Han was Luke's dad and that he was the same person as Steve Martin
Sure, I'd watch this
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Librarian's ghostLibrarian, Ghostbuster, and TimSporkRegistered Userregular
My mind added the part from spaceballs where they talk to the dad ruler guy on the planet and added it to New Hope so I was very confused later when they didn’t call up Leia’s dad before blowing up the planet.
Does Machete order actually preserve the “Palpatine becomes the Emperor” thing?
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
It isn't much of a twist if you ask me, even as presented in the movies.
i don't think it's even meant to be, i mean, the movies weren't made with no one being aware of the original trilogy
every scene with palpatine is meant to be interpreted through the lens of dramatic irony, the audience's knowledge of something the characters don't know. attempts to turn it into a twist are not necessarily an incorrect way of watching it, but it is a creation of something new rather than some sort of "pure" viewing order
Just because someone has seen the OT doesn't mean they're going to recognize McDiarmid out of makeup and not doing his hammy sith voices.
I'd say if you've never seen Star Wars just watch the release order. Doing a chronological run through seems more like something a fan would do to get a better experience later on.
I cannot see showing somebody Star Wars for the first time and making them watch it like that, especially since the quality swings so wildly.
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A New Hope
Rogue One
The Empire Strikes Back
The Phantom Menace
Attack of the Clones
The Clone Wars (series (which includes the movie anyway)), chronological order
Revenge of the Sith
Rebels (except the final scene)
Return of the Jedi
Rebels (the final scene)
The Mandalorian
Solo
The Force Awakens
Resistance season 1
The Last Jedi
Resistance season 2
The Rise of Skywalker
Your greatest enemy, when you have them tied down and their eyes forced open, I imagine
Preserves the "I am your father" twist of the OT
Preserves the "Palpatine is Sideous and becomes the emperor" arc from the PT.
Due to this a bunch of stuff gets plopped into the "between Empire and Jedi" space.
Everything else appears to be roughly chronological order, within that framework (i.e. shoving a ton of stuff in-between 5 and 6) aside from Solo (which your guess is as good as mine) and Rogue One (which should go before ANH, but I imagine they wanted ANH to go first)
"Sort by quality".
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Also should be asked is if the viewer prefers action? Are they okay with movies slowing down? How invested they want to be? Are they the "watch everything" kind of person? Or do they just want to watch one film to see what all the hype is about? Do they want a modern spectacle or are they okay with something that's a bit more dated?
There's different answers for each case, IMO.
report back, i'm 90% of the way to convince my SO that we should do this this year instead of next
I live a few hours away so please tell me if you think it’s worth it . I’ve been thinking about it myself.
(R1 is “you just saw what the stolen Death Star plans yielded, now flashback and see all the people that had to fight and die to make that happen,” Solo is a flashback to get to know Han better before he dies)
But don’t break up a single TV show into pieces like that and also probably just do the shows as a separate thing, come on
Mando’s only begun to dive into it, but Clone Wars-Rebels-Mando have their own throughline, characters, objects, plots that they share. Enough to be thought of as a separate thing to be viewed in order after you’ve been informed by watching the movies
Or you know, just watch the films in release order and the shows whenever you can
(Do not pick chronological, it’s dumb)
I watch chronological when I marathoner it . I enjoy it /shrug
If you’re watching any non-laserdisc version, then Ian McDiarmid shows up as a giant floating head in ESB, so I think you have to choose between Vader/Anakin and The Emperor reveals; you can’t have both
Also, I’m pretty sure they never actually say “Palpatine” in RotJ, but I’m not sure how that affects things
It isn't much of a twist if you ask me, even as presented in the movies.
At least Palps covers slightly more of his face in his disguise as Sidious than Bruce Wayne does as Batman
I mean, small children seem surprised by it when shown the Machete order.
As documented by Drew McWeeny back in 2011.
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but then they fail (IMO) by having his withering occur on-screen, from a single fight, rather than the (un)natural result of just being an evil space wizard, simultaneously fueled/sustained and corrupted by dark magics, over the course of the intervening 15-20 years.
i don't think it's even meant to be, i mean, the movies weren't made with no one being aware of the original trilogy
every scene with palpatine is meant to be interpreted through the lens of dramatic irony, the audience's knowledge of something the characters don't know. attempts to turn it into a twist are not necessarily an incorrect way of watching it, but it is a creation of something new rather than some sort of "pure" viewing order
But so pick chronological for clone wars
But they never say his name in the original trilogy, and I could totally see someone that is somehow new to the series who hasn't been exposed to all the supplemental bullshit wouldn't know immediately that it's the same dude
This is not meant to be "we're having a Star Wars marathon over a couple of days!" This is meant to be "this person has never seen Star Wars and knows nothing of it beyond cultural osmosis, but has expressed a deep interest, so we are going to dump enough content in their lap that their free time is going to be sorted for the next couple of months."
My reasoning is as follows: the Machete Order (which this cribs heavily off of, thematically at least) is designed to preserve the twist of "No, I am your father" for people who have never seen Star Wars, while also not making the prequels feel like the long, poorly-made appendix they mostly are if you've already seen Return of the Jedi. You get the "I am your father" revelation, then go back to see how it happened, and then you go to Jedi to see how the story ends.
I include the shows as part of the larger watch order, despite their much greater length, because while the theory of the Machete Order is sound, it still has to contend with the reality of the prequels. Clone Wars does more to explain the tragic heroism of Anakin Skywalker than all the prequels combined do, and not just because the show had more time to work with. If anything you could probably remove TPM and AOTC entirely, and just use Clone Wars and Revenge. But if you're going to include any show at all, unless you cut it down to just the most thematic five or six episodes (not a bad idea but beyond the scope of a list I made in three minutes), then you've already conceded the length battle, so you might as well throw in the other shows too. I suppose if you wanted you could clip out some of the one-offs that don't move the plot forward, but again, a lot of work for a three-minute list, and given how much good stuff there is in Clone Wars and that TPM and AOTC are still in the watch order I'm not too bothered about 20 mediocre minutes here or there. You can also watch Clone Wars in release order, but I decided to make it chronological because there's already a fair amount of timejumping in this watch order.
Meanwhile, including the end montage of Rebels spoils, however slightly, the end of Return of the Jedi. Keeping it until after you see Return also puts your mind back into the Filoni vision of the universe so you can jump into Mandalorian right after. Resistance season 1 explicitly starts before Force Awakens and season 2 ends after Last Jedi, so certain major events are spoiled if you watch them in a block before either of them. I suppose if you wanted you could put them before Rise but after TLJ.
You're correct about my reasoning re: Solo and Rogue One, with the follow additions:
1. There is simply no narrative point to watching Solo at any other point before he dies and watching it after TFA breaks what little flow the content set in the sequel trilogy has, while waiting until after Rise has only the benefit of getting to finish off the saga with a somewhat better movie than IX
2. In addition to working best as a companion piece to ANH, Rogue One spoils basically nothing of the larger saga but gives a few early-bird cameos to things like the Mon Cals and Mustafar
Also, this is the 2020 Watch Order, in the same way that a car released in May of 2019 is the 2020 model of that car. i.e., It includes all relevant* Star Wars content up to 1 January 2020. As long as more Star Wars keeps being made, it will need to be adjusted in the future. (e.g., in the future, the Clone Wars entry will likely include season 7, which comes out in February, unless certain things happen in that season that wreck the point of the watch order)
*Relevant here meaning "canonical material that enough people have seen", which excludes the Holiday Special, the Ewoks and Droids movies and cartoons, anything prior to the Disney buyout not named Clone Wars, and the novels and comic books printed since.
I thought Han was Luke's dad and that he was the same person as Steve Martin
I thought spaceballs was some kind of secret sequel to Star Wars and spent years trying to find the movie before I realized my mistake.
Sure, I'd watch this
Put more of Jimmy Smits in Star Wars
Just because someone has seen the OT doesn't mean they're going to recognize McDiarmid out of makeup and not doing his hammy sith voices.
I cannot see showing somebody Star Wars for the first time and making them watch it like that, especially since the quality swings so wildly.
First of all, episode 1 is the best prequel
Second of all, it takes too long to get back to Luke
Third of all, the prequels are improved by pretending no other star wars exists and they are a cool new movie series telling their own story
Fourth of all, having episode 3 fresh in your mind makes vader's redemption much less desirable
Fifth of all, watching two movies where lucas knew where he was going really highlights the bizarre narrative and tonal jumps from empire to rotj
People on the internet continue to have too much talent and or time. Empire strikes back edition.
The prequel trilogy is absolutely the most coherent trilogy, the original trilogy changed drastically between every movie