
The Machete Order eliminates Episode I: The Phantom Menace and doesn’t take into consideration the two non-Skywalker Saga films, but you can easily throw those in after watching through The Rise of Skywalker. Instead, the story began with Episode IV: A New Hope, setting up a story with Luke Skywalker as the hero, and many Star Wars fans would argue that this is the best place to start watching all of the Star Wars movies and then finish watching them in release order, all the way to Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker.Īnother option is called “The Machete Order.” In this order, you watch Episodes IV and V, complete with the shocking reveal at the end of The Empire Strikes Back that Darth Vader is Luke’s father before going back to watch Episodes II and III to get Darth Vader’s backstory followed by Return of the Jedi and the rest of the Skywalker Saga. As most Star Wars fans know, however, George Lucas didn’t begin telling the story of the Skywalker family with Episode I: The Phantom Menace.
