Watch All The Star Wars Movies In This Order Before The Rise Of Skywalker

Star Wars' Skywalker Saga ends this December 20 when The Rise Of Skywalker finally hits theaters, and all anyone can talk about is the galaxy far, far away. Planning to rewatch the films before the final chapter? There is a bit of a debate in the fandom (when is there not a bit of a debate in this fandom) over what order to watch the Star Wars movies in — and I have the answer. Well, an answer.

Since the Star Wars films that came out in the '90s and '00s are prequels to the films released in the '70s and '80s, there are multiple ways you could approach a rewatch. You could keep it simple and straightforward and watch the films in order of their original release date: The original trilogy, the prequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, and Solo. You could also watch them in chronological order, which would mean watching The Phantom Menace first, and then slotting Solo and Rogue One in between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. If you're not a fan of the prequels, starting off with Jar Jar Binks might be tiring, but I will say that going from the breathtaking final few minutes of Rogue One into A New Hope is a thrill.

There is also a fan-created Star Wars order called "machete order" which was designed specifically for showing Star Wars to kids growing up after the prequels were released. It preserves twists in the story surrounding Darth Vader and the Emperor's true identities and, sorry to this Gungan, completely removes Episode I from the equation. The official machete order is: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Attack of The Clones, Revenge Of The Sith, and Return Of The Jedi — but has gotten more complicated with the release of Rogue One and Solo. It's kind of fun as an experiment, but ultimately a bit of a roller coaster.

I suggest watching the Star Wars movies in release date order with a few minor modifications. Here's what to do: