If you’re planning on watching the movies with younger children, starting with the older films may be kind of tough if they’re used to contemporary animation.
There are 2 different versions of the original trilogy: the original release, and the 1997 remastered version. The remastered version isn’t narratively different—it has all the same characters and plot points—but the animation is updated. This may be a good choice if you’re watching with younger viewers, although film purists tend to shy away from the updated versions.
The prequels aren’t essential to understanding everything that happens in the original trilogy, and their tone is radically different than the other Star Wars films (they’re goofier and emphasize the comedy). Some adult viewers that are interested in the action and main story opt to cut the prequels altogether. The prequels take place narratively before the original trilogy, meaning that the events in these films happened before the start of 1977’s A New Hope. This can become a tough narrative to follow if you’re taking long breaks between viewings, since the events at the end of the last prequel (Revenge of the Sith) lead into the first film (A New Hope).
The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker are collectively called the “sequel trilogy. ” They’re an extension of the main story line from the prequels and the original trilogy. Rogue One and Solo are called “stories” because they both have the subtitle A Star Wars Story. They provide some context and backstory for the main films, but they aren’t mandatory viewing. It’s totally up to you whether you want to include them or not, although they’re critically considered to be solid additions to the Star Wars universe.
Since the prequels tend to be a little goofier and lighter than the other films, this is a good choice if you have younger kids that you want to share the films with. It’ll also make the story easier to follow, which can be a problem for younger viewers.
One of the downsides to this method is that it places the prequels first. The prequels are almost universally considered to be the worst films in the canon, and viewers with a more critical eye may be turned off to the entire endeavor if they start with the prequels.
Rogue One is largely about the origins of the Death Star and the Empire’s first foray into conquering the universe. Solo is Han Solo’s backstory, and you’ll learn a lot about Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, and the Millennium Falcon.
One of the upsides to watching chronologically is that the Empire’s violent behavior makes a little more sense at the beginning of the A New Hope. Unfortunately, the big twist at the end of The Empire Strikes Back won’t be as surprising since it’s explained thoroughly in the prequels. This is considered to be the biggest downside of watching in chronological order.
The events in the sequel trilogy contain a lot of references to the original trilogy, and many of the characters from those original films make an appearance.
For many diehard fans of the Star Wars films, this is the best way to view the films since it reduces the role of the prequels by treating them like a long flashback. This also preserves the clarity of the narrative while increasing the emotional impact of the final film in the original trilogy. It will also increase the emotional impact of Return of the Jedi since you’ll be more invested in Vader’s backstory.
Since Return of the Jedi ends right before the climax of the original trilogy, you should have a pretty easy time following what’s going on when you come back to the originals.
With the Rinster order, Rogue One and Solo serve kind of like separate stories that aren’t related to the main narrative arc. This keeps the order faithful to the intended purpose of the films, since Rogue One and Solo aren’t intended to be core parts of the main story.
The nature of the conflict between the Rebellion and the Empire is sort of left unexplained in the original films. The Empire are simply taken to be evil and the Rebellion is assumed to be good. Rogue One gives a lot of background information about why these 2 factions are fighting in the first place.
The actual order of these 2 films doesn’t matter if you’re watching them first.
The Phantom Menace is visually interesting, but the story is often criticized as being boring and silly. If you’re into action and cool set pieces though, it’s not a bad viewing experience.
