Star Wars Viewing Order?

[calsnowskier]

So after watching Rogue One, I have been thinking a lot about the ideal viewing order of the 8 movies.

Previous to Force Awakens, there were two accepted theories for viewing order...

Chronological (Ep I -> Ep II -> etc)
Release order (Ep IV -> Ep V -> etc)

I tended to subscribe to the "Release Order" theory. After all, the prequels were intended to be viewed knowing that Anakin was going to become Vader. And if you knew Vader was Luke's father, than the fight scene on Bespin would not have had the same weight. Also, if we had seen Yoda as a badass already, his introduction in Empire as a crazy hermit would not have had the same feel.

But where should Rogue One be placed in the binge order?

I see Rogue One as more of an extension of New Hope, not it's own movie. I think it should be the first movie shown.

But if you are showing the series to someone who was just rescued from the bottom of a rock pile, and knew nothing of the series, would Vader make any sense to them? Would his castle be too spoilery? Is it good enough to get them hooked on the universe, the way New Hope hooked everyone in?

 

[Tharvot]

Release order...also, skip episodes 1 - 3.

 

[Melman]

Release order...also, skip episodes 1 - 3.

Good suggestions.

I remember reading a quote from George Lucas where he stated that the majority of what he'd envisioned for the prequels was all contained in the storyline for Revenge of the Sith (Episode III); Episodes I and II were mostly padding, so to speak.

If anyone had any level of interest in the pre-Episode IV Skywalker backstory, Episode III is would be the film to watch. There would be gaps to be filled in as far as certain characters and plot points are concerned, but then again, one wouldn't have to sit though Episode I (with the Jar-Jar Binks and midichlorian nonsense) and the majority of Episode II where Anakin Skywalker seemed to be at his whiniest.

 

[Clayton]

Revenge of the Sith ---> Rogue One ---> New Hope ---> Empire Strikes Back ---> Return of the Jedi ---> Force Awakens


My .02 is that Attack of the Clones can be completely skipped. Phantom Menace is more universe building than anything and only relevant for the fight scene and backstory but its too disconnected for the rest of the series and is about 75% wasted time.

 

[Clayton]

Anyone on this board actually see Revenge of the Sith before seeing the original movies? I'd imagine its a little better not knowing the plot twists that are super obvious to everyone else about the dark side and Vader.

The problem from going from Revenge of the Sith to Rogue One is that you dont have an into in Rogue One going 'we're in a totally different place and time right now' and it just jumps straight into the action. I like going from the 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO' point to a completely different story but one might have confusion about the shipped off kids and the kid that is getting tracked down at the start of Rogue One. I suspect the DVD Home release will have an optional BUM BUM Ba Ba ba baaa BUM intro for the people who missed having it in the theater and that will provide enough information to tell people that something else entirely is going on.

 

[calsnowskier]

Revenge of the Sith ---> Rogue One ---> New Hope ---> Empire Strikes Back ---> Return of the Jedi ---> Force Awakens


My .02 is that Attack of the Clones can be completely skipped. Phantom Menace is more universe building than anything and only relevant for the fight scene and backstory but its too disconnected for the rest of the series and is about 75% wasted time.

Not bad. I need to binge the whole series again. I am not sure the last time I actually watched the prequels, or even Jedi.

But viewing Sith as the opening salvo is an interesting idea I hadn't heard before...

 

[Clayton]

Not bad. I need to binge the whole series again. I am not sure the last time I actually watched the prequels, or even Jedi.

But viewing Sith as the opening salvo is an interesting idea I hadn't heard before...

The main reason to keep Sith around is that Vader makes enough appearances in Rogue One to tie it together. It puts a face on Vader, he shows up to put someone in his place, he shows up later on the battlefield to be a badass, then right into a New Hope. I suspect the whole 'Luke I am your father' thing is a totally different vibe, though.

I could see just starting at Rogue One.


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[BigRedMoe]

I'm an order by episode guy with Rogue One now counting as Ep. 3.5.... or maybe 3.9.

 

[UVA_Guy81]

I guess I'm getting a little ahead of everything here but where would the young Han Solo series they're planning be in the order? After Revenge of the Sith and before Rogue One?

 

[calsnowskier]

I guess I'm getting a little ahead of everything here but where would the young Han Solo series they're planning be in the order? After Revenge of the Sith and before Rogue One?

Well, we haven't seen it yet, but that is my understanding. Maybe 5-10 years before Rogue One/New Hope.

 

[TJL]

The prequels, besides revenge of the sith, were mostly shit, but had some good scenes and I'd at least give them a shot, they weren't "the worst films of all time" by any means, they just didn't reach the standard the original trilogy established.

I'd go, rogue one/4/5/6/7 followed by 1/2/3

 

[TJL]

Well, we haven't seen it yet, but that is my understanding. Maybe 5-10 years before Rogue One/New Hope.

It's supposed to be 10 years before Rogue One/New Hope

 

[calsnowskier]

It's supposed to be 10 years before Rogue One/New Hope

It will be interesting st see how old they make Solo. New Hope is supposed to be approx 18 years after Sith. If they make Solo a kid (15 yo?) that would make him only about 5-7 years older than Luke and Leia. If they make him an adult (25-30) that would make him 15-20 years older.

I never pictured Han as just a young 20-something in New Hope. I always pegged him as a 30-something. I was never overly wielded out by the age difference because I was so young when I first saw it and it was locked into my psyche.

 

[TJL]

It's supposed to be 10 years before Rogue One/New Hope

When a New Hope came out

Fisher was 21
Hamill was 26
Ford was 35

obviously Leia/Luke are twins, but I think they'll go with the narrative Luke was 21ish and make it so that Han Solo will be 24/25 in the spinoff film.

 

[wildturkey]

4, 5, 6, 7, 8,9 (when the last two come out obviously)

Watch the prequels only after and treat them as just as unnecessary but still somewhat interesting prologue. As for Rogue One, I haven't decided. In a way, it works to watch it first but at the same time, if I never saw SW before, I'd might be confused as fuck with what was going on if I saw it first. Maybe throw RO in there after ANH for some backstory or something

 

[Niner Outlaw]

A friend gave me this order and I liked it:

Skip Ep 1 and Ep 2
Ep 3.9, Rogue One
Ep 4, A New Hope
Ep 5, Empire Strikes Back
Ep 3, Revenge of the Sith (seen as a flashback)
Ep 6, Return of the Jedi

I said, "You had me at 'just skip episode 1.'" I watched them like this over a coupe of days and I was surprised by how well it worked. Rogue leads right into New Hope where you are even more afraid of Vader. Empire follows naturally and this order doesn't spoil the Empire reveal and once you know Vader is Luke's father, you can see Revenge as a flashback that will make you both hate and pity Vader by the time Jedi begins.

 

[calsnowskier]

I a man REALLY liking the idea of skipping I and II or just treating them as after-the-fact filler. It does tie everything into a cleaner, tighter package.

 

[Niner Outlaw]

I a man REALLY liking the idea of skipping I and II or just treating them as after-the-fact filler. It does tie everything into a cleaner, tighter package.

Yep, I thought so. Much less filler and for a 7 movie set, it moved at a pretty brisk pace. You get enough pertinent info in Ep3 to fill in much of the back story before Jedi begins. Then you need a time gap of a day or 2 between Jedi and Ep7. I was surprised how much I liked the order.

 

[wildturkey]

A friend gave me this order and I liked it:

Skip Ep 1 and Ep 2
Ep 3.9, Rogue One
Ep 4, A New Hope
Ep 5, Empire Strikes Back
Ep 3, Revenge of the Sith (seen as a flashback)
Ep 6, Return of the Jedi

I said, "You had me at 'just skip episode 1.'" I watched them like this over a coupe of days and I was surprised by how well it worked. Rogue leads right into New Hope where you are even more afraid of Vader. Empire follows naturally and this order doesn't spoil the Empire reveal and once you know Vader is Luke's father, you can see Revenge as a flashback that will make you both hate and pity Vader by the time Jedi begins.

I'd seen that suggested some time back and forgot about it. It really does work surprisingly well. If you're introducing SW to someone that hasn't seen it, that's the best way to go.

 

[TheDayMan]

I haven't seen Rogue One yet. I'd say IV-VII, then I-III, if you want...