What Is the Correct Viewing Order of Star Wars Movies?

With the massive success of the latest TV series The Mandalorian and movie The Rise of Skywalker in 2019, the young generation is getting more and more into the Star Wars Saga. Also, the older fans often fancy having a Star Wars movie marathon.

So, here is the thing, there are many ways to enjoy the Star Wars Saga other than the official sequence. All of these orders can give a different type of vibe about the story.

But why are viewers recreating new orders?
A lot of the viewers don’t enjoy the original sequence. Some want to enjoy a new perspective at the series. But most importantly, the actual theatrical release is jumbled.

The first three trilogy consists of Episodes IV, V, and VI. Then comes the prequels – Episodes I, II, and III. And finally, the sequels come to the show – Episodes VII, VIII, and IX.
Also, there are two movies that don’t fall into the sequence – Rogue One and Solo: A Star Wars Story, released in 2016 and 2018.

These two actually fall somewhere in between the Episodes I and IX. That’s why many hardcore fans have invented the orders.
Rather than giving you spoilers, we have created a few orders to enjoy Star Wars Saga.

This is the simple sequence based on the release dates. It keeps the biggest spoiler intact but is quite confusing as the story gets complicated and Jumbled. If you haven’t watched any of the movies, you should probably skip this order and follow any other sequence.

1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983)
4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
6. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
7. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
8. Rogue One (2016)
9. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
10. Solo (2018)
11. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

A huge number of hardcore fans don’t like The Phantom Menace (1999). They hate it so bad that they wanted to cut it off from the re-watch marathon. That’s why they gave it the name – the machete order.
The only issue with this order is that it doesn’t include the sequels and want to celebrate the original old-school Episodes.

1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2. Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
4. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
5. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

This order was invented by a Star Wars superfan – Ernest Rinster. It follows the machete order (excluding the sequels) but doesn’t cut it off from the list.

1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2. Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (1980)
3. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
4. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
5. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
6. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

What if you don’t want to get mixed in the complexity of the storyline and want to follow the story sequentially? Then, you should follow the chronological order or the vanilla 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. Solo (2018)
5. Rogue One (2016)
6. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
7. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
8. Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi (1983)
9. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
10. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
11. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

Rather than following the traditional sequence or the chronological sequence, you can follow this special custom sequence. It keeps all the spoiler intact while making the storyline palatable.
If you have never seen Star Wars before, follow this order and thank us later!

1. Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
2. Rogue One (2016)
3. Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
4. Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
5. Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
6. Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
7. Solo (2018)
8. Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
9. The Mandalorian (2019)
10. Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
11. Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017)
12. Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)