I’ve never seen any Star Wars films. Do I watch in order?

Just stick with the original trilogy. Don't waste your time with anything else.

While some will opt for Machete order I would suggest watching it the old fashioned way based on release.

Just watch 4,5,6 and be at peace

If you've never seen a Star Wars film before, and you weren't watching too many scify movies back in the 1970's and early 80's, it might not be a bad idea to start with Rogue One as it's the only one other than the original trilogy that's worth a damn and the end of Rogue One segways perfectly into the beginning of A New Hope.

The prequels are terrible and the new trilogy is pretty much trash. Solo is ok, but forgettable and unnecessary. However, if you really find yourself sucked into the lore after Empire Strikes Back, I recommend the Hatchet Order:

Rogue One, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, Solo, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi

The prequels are boring and filled with terrible acting and CGI, but they add a ton of backstory and establish a lot of history on the Republic, the history of the Jedi, how the Empire came to be, who the players are, and why they are who they are, etc.

The standalone movies are fun competent films. Rogue One is pure straight awesome and Solo is a fun heist movie.

The Force Awakens kinda feels like a reunion special, but it's harmless fun that's well acted with great action, visuals, and pacing. It FEELS like one of the original trilogy movies, but like the low calorie version. Still hits that craving, but not quite as satisfying.

The Last Jedi is like someone made it their mission to take everything you learned from the previous movies and shove it straight up your arse, and not in a cool, novel, unexpected plot twist way, but in a terrible, spiteful, and all around unenjoyable way. It is widely considered, among nerds, to be the most insulting movie ever made, even worse than all-female Ghostbusters. It's not insulting as in it challenges you to think differently, more like it's insulting your intelligence assuming you won't notice how completely nonsensical the plots, the characters, and the deus ex machina are.

Rogue One -> A New Hope -> Empire Strikes Back -> The Phantom Menace (Optional) -> Attack of the Clones -> Revenge of the Sith -> Return of the Jedi -> The Force Awakens -> The Last Jedi


If you are into the world (universe) and like Han Solo after watching the movies, then go back and watch Solo, otherwise you don't really have to. The Clone Wars animated series is good and adds to the world, it IS canon, but I wouldn't take a break from the movies to watch it unless you were super dedicated. Watch it after if you want.

This order allows you to watch the original trilogy, then go back in time and see how one character becomes what they do, then Return of the Jedi is even bigger because you've seen the journey of the two key characters all lead up to that movie.

I’ve never heard of someone watching the prequels but skipping Phantom Menace. Then again, I’m wracking my brain to think of something that a first time watcher would really feel confused about by missing it.

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My BIL is a Star Wars geek and he once recommended that I watch the movie Fanboys, because he thought I'd think it was funny. He was correct. I saw it on the shelf in the library a week ago and checked it out. It had some pretty hilarious moments in it. Obviously, there were a ton of Star Wars references that went over my head, so I thought I should watch the movies. But now I'm beginning to wonder if I really need to devote 15 or 20 hours to a bunch of movies that may or may not suck, even if they earned about a billion dollars each.

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GREAT movie! All their references are from the original trilogy (which everyone loves) and the Phantom Menace (which most everyone hates). The plot of the movie was that these kids are trying to steal an advanced copy of the Phantom Menace so their friend who has terminal cancer will have a chance to see it before he dies.

Honestly, there’s no reason to avoid old school star wars. They’re fun adventure movies that are well shot, well acted, and have a lot of heart.

You have every reason to be wary of anything Star Wars beyond those first three movies, but I dare you to watch A New Hope and not get hooked.

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I’ve never heard of someone watching the prequels but skipping Phantom Menace. Then again, I’m wracking my brain to think of something that a first time watcher would really feel confused about by missing it.

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You could skip TPM and not really miss anything in terms of the overall arc, but there are some moments and characters (Darth Maul) that you'd miss out on.

A New Hope
Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi


frick everything else.