George Lucas Reveals His Preferred Star Wars Watch Order
When it comes to motion picture series featuring a hefty number of installments, everyone has their own preference regarding the arrangement in which the various entries should be watched. For instance, the Marvel Cinematic Universe consists of thirty entries, and even though Disney+ conveniently lists each movie chronologically on its platform, it doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the sequence they should be viewed in. Another long-running franchise featuring several installments is one George Lucas launched long ago – Star Wars, and thanks to Vulture, we now know the order the filmmaker prefers to watch the series in.
If you’ve never heard of George Lucas, then chances are you’ve never seen a Star Wars movie, as the two pretty much go hand in hand. If you’re preparing to finally dive into one of the greatest science fiction series of all time for the first time, it can be difficult to determine which film to start with, as some entries came out before others, yet they take place after installments released later on. Fortunately, Vulture has made the decision-making process less strenuous by asking various celebrities which order they suggest watching the series in.
First up, it’s George Lucas, the mastermind who created Star Wars. He recommends watching the films beginning with Episode I – The Phantom Menace and ending with Episode VIII – The Last Jedi. Even he understands the confusion in the order of movies, as Episode IV – A New Hope was the first entry to be released way back in 1977, and Episode I didn’t arrive until 1999. He said, “Just because it took a long time to film it doesn’t mean you don’t do it in order.”
Samuel L. Jackson, who starred as Mace Windu in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, was in agreement with George Lucas. He feels the Stars Wars films should be viewed in “numerical order” to best understand the mythology. Speaking about Anakin Skywalker, he said, “His bloodline is the strong bloodline, so you kind of need to know what’s on there.”
In addition to George Lucas and Samuel L. Jackson, Vulture’s list consists of several celebrities who suggest viewing the Star Wars movies in chronological order, however, there are others who recommend watching the entries in a different sequence. For instance, David Edelstein, who’s a staff writer for the site, is convinced the movies should be viewed beginning with Episode IV – A New Hope.
Unlike George Lucas, he feels folks who have never seen a Star Wars film should begin with Episode IV, move on to Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, and then to Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. He said, “Look, anyone who stars with Episode I will be so bored so fast that they’ll have no frigging idea what anyone saw in [the series].” Once those three installments are watched in that particular order, only then does he recommend watching Episode I through Episode III.
Finally, there are some people like Perez Hilton, who prefer to skip half the series, which George Lucas would undoubtedly find insulting. The renowned blogger suggests watching the original three Stars Wars films in numerical order, saying “Those are the only ones that matter.” He feels Episode VII through Episode IX weren’t up to par with the earlier released entries.
Considering George Lucas created the Stars Wars franchise, it’s safe to assume he knows the order in which the films should be watched better than anyone else. Once again, however, the sequence in which the movies are best viewed comes down to personal preference. The important thing for anyone who hasn’t seen a single installment in the long-running series is to drop everything you’re doing and watch one immediately!
