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Washington Post

What’s the Correct Order for Watching the ‘Star Wars’ Movies?

Dec 11, 2015  •  Post A Comment

As part of the runup to the Dec. 18 premiere of “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” The Washington Post posed a question for fans who want to binge-watch the entire film series to prepare for the seventh installment.

The question is: What’s the best order in which to watch the first six movies?

The answer may seem obvious, as the episodes are numbered, with the original trilogy starting with “Episode IV: A New Hope,” the movie that was generally known simply as “Star Wars” when it was released in 1977. But things became complicated when, well after the 1983 release of “Episode VI: Return of the Jedi” in 1983, the three-movie prequel series launched in 1999 with “Episode I: The Phantom Menace.”

The question has been debated at length online, with one contingent of fans advocating watching the movies in the order in which they were released, while others lean toward watching them in the order of the numbered episodes. However, the Post reports that a fan named Ernest Rinster is credited with a strategy that appears to have wide acceptance.

Rinster’s three-step plan starts with (Step 1) Watch “Episode IV” and “Episode V”; then goes to (Step 2) Watch “Episodes I, II and III”; and finally (Step 3) Watch “Episode VI.”

To understand the reasoning behind the strategy, click on the link near the top of this story, which will take you to the Washington Post article.

star wars the force awakens

One Comment

  1. The Machete Order may actually be a better way to watch the films, with Ep IV, V then Eps II, and III, then Ep VI. This order ditches EP I completely as it has little impact on the overall story

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