Ideal Movie Viewing Order?

In my opinion, I would go with 1, 2, 3, R1, 4, 5, 6.

If you're a superfan or you have a lot of free time, you can throw in Solo and the TV shows.

 

I’m flirting with the idea of 4, 5, 3, 6, 7, 8 (9) - If you want more adventures in this far away galaxy, then they’re out there waiting for you. Go find them

 

That's interesting. I know the Hatchet Order removes EPI because apparently it's not directly tied to the overall plot but I think there's something to be said that AotC doesn't contribute a whole that TPM doesn't.

Like, we see older Anakin, but we see that in RotS already. And a lot of the main story beats (Padme being pregnant, Anakin's frustration with the Jedi, Anakin's rage, etc) are rehashed in RotS, each scene arguably better than how it was covered in AotC anyway.

It almost begs the question- is AotC redundant?

Like, it gives backstory for a lot of what happens in the Clone Wars and EPIII, but I think you have to consider the fact that the OT stood on its own for a really long time. Could just ROTS work on its own as the single prequel film, and what of direct value do the other two movies provide?

Not trying to be too overly critical here- obviously they add entertainment value which is pretty much the main reason we're all here anyway. But I'm curious- you'll always need a jumping off point into Star Wars, and 1,4,7 all did that already. I'm just curious if III would be equally as viable a jumping off point, and how much a new viewer would miss.

 

Maybe it’s a product of the generation I grew up in, but the ‘Star Wars Saga’, to me, has always been about the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire and how that’s echoed by the conflict between Luke and Vader. The crux of that story, what it was all leading to, was whether Luke would succeed and redeem his father or fail and follow his father’s path. The prequels, for me, only serve to set that conflict up - to show how we got there, but aren’t largely needed beyond adding greater relevance to that central conflict.

When I first heard about Hilton’s ‘machete order’, I was pretty intrigued. If you inject the PT storyline before the climax of ROTJ, it underscores the weight of that finale. If you strip out ALL the elements that don’t further that core struggle though, then you’re essentially left with ROTS (not even AOTC). We see Anakin as the good, yet conflicted, man who Luke believes he can save. We see how Luke’s path mirrors his father’s and how he might potentially be following it. We see the birth of the Empire and the despair it represents. We see the birth of the twins and the hope they represent. It’s nothing but the key components that had been referenced by ANH and ESB. You can infer the rest through context.

Sure, there’s lingering threads there: Who’s this Dooku guy? Anakin’s mom? A Prophecy? A clone army? Midi-chlorians? Qui-Gon what now? How is Luke related to Owen and Beru again? Etc. To me though, none of the questions raised by omitting the first two episodes (or standalones) are pertinent to where the story ends. Yes, this world is way bigger than just this story, but it IS the main story. It’s what I feel a new inductee would get the most from. That’s just me though.

 

The Episodic films should only ever be viewed chronologically (TPM-TROS once the latter is released and available for "home viewing").

 

I would watch the Anthology films first , then go into TOS and then the sequel trilogy.

I can't stand the prequels and would never show Star Wars to a first time viewer in chronological order.

To me Rogue One and Solo are the prequels.

 

I think it is a mistake to begin watching the saga with TPM.
ANH is the starting point. Old Ben tells Luke what is the Force, the two droids in the desert in the beginning: the first steps into the Star Wars Galaxy.
My order is similar to the machete order:

1. ANH
2. TESB

-- Flashback, what happened before to understand the cliffhanger of TESB:

3. TPM
4. AotC
5. RotS
6. Solo
7. RO

and then:

8. RotJ
9. TFA
10. TLJ
(11. TRoS)

 

If I have to show the saga to my future child, maybe something like this:

- Classic Trilogy
- Sequel Trilogy
- Anthology Films
- Prequel Trilogy (by your own risk...hahah)