Rogue One After Rogue One, what's the best viewing order?

Nah, I'm the same. My brother, roommate and I are planning a Saga marathon in the fall to build up to The Last Jedi. We'll either watch the seven Episodes in release order or episodic order, depending on what everyone votes on, but we've unanimously decided to exclude Rogue One. We all love the film, but as it's intentionally set outside of the Saga (even if it links up with the beginning of A New Hope nearly seamlessly), and thus free of both its structure and traditions, we feel it's best watched that way; in the context of the Saga, but separate from it.

 

I still say the movies should be watched in the order of their release. 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3, 7, R0

 

Interesting way to look at it. Me personally, because of how closely it ties with the original movie, think it belongs in the Saga. At any rate, I have seen the original movies without it in place and the series felt very incomplete without it. I could see why someone would prefer to see it alone though, I kinda feel that way about the Clone Wars movie.

 

I say the first time you really should watch the films in release order. After that, chronological order is enticing. I just think release order is the best for the first time around because of cultural context.

 

Release order is a must for a first time viewer.

 

Why not?

 

Anakin turning to the dark side isn't set up as a twist though, but everyone knows Vader is Luke's father these days anyways so fair enough. Showing it chronologically could mess up their view of Vader though (no prequel hate). When my sister first saw the end of ROTJ she felt sorry for Vader. When I showed her all movies chronologically she just straight up did not like Anakin at all and thought he was a creepy stalker.

 

A friend of mine decided to find out what this Star Wars thing was all about and she watched them chronologically. She felt that the prequels were referencing things she hadn't seen, and wished she had watched release order instead.

 

The central drama of Rogue One though is I think much more self supporting, the PT depends on knowing the rise of the Empire and Vader are significant.

 

Not really, I see it as the other way round, the Empire and Vader gain more significance in the OT from the PT. There's nothing in the PT that really requires anything from the OT.

 

On the other hand, a lot of newbies are more acclimated to the prequels by having grown up with the Clone Wars cartoon. You also get people introduced through TFA, for whom all the previous movies are like backstory to that film.

I guess I'm not sure if the originals are automatically the best starting point anymore.

 

I believe it needs to be, RO, IV,V,VI, TFA. Then start over. I enjoy the prequels, but after the depth RO brought to ANH and the rest of the OT, I don't feel the prequels have much of a place in the GFFA anymore. As someone posted earlier in this thread, the prequels are kind of like reference material in case you want to go back and check something.

 

I can not believe how much I laughed at this. The sad truth is that nowadays that is the common standard with newer SW fans who have only seen those two movies.


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General Grievous: Anakin Skywalker. I expected someone with your reputation to be a little... older.

Anakin Skywalker: General Grievous... you're shorter than I expected.

General Grievous: Jedi scum!

Obi-Wan Kenobi: We have a job to do, Anakin. Try not to upset him.

 

That can kind of be said no matter how you approach it, though. For example, starting with Episode 4 (which in itself seems odd now that 1 through 3 exist) means you have no reference for things like the Force, the Clone Wars, what really happened to Luke's father, etc. You just have to be open to finding some things out as you go... in the case of starting with ANH, we don't know any more than Luke does. If you'd seen the PT first you'd know about those things already... so both ways have their pluses and minuses. But I do think the only really big point that kind of gets ruined by chronological order is the TESB father reveal, and otherwise I generally prefer to see large stories in chronological order.

Growing up with these movies naturally meant I saw them in release order. And that's actually how I showed them to my son, too, but not by any plan I felt determined to stick to. He wanted to start with the movies featuring Luke and Han since he knew them best from the SW books he'd be looking at then (he was three). The big plus there was that he was truly surprised by the father reveal.

Also, RO followed by ANH is so great that I feel I have to update my preferred order:

I II III RO IV RO IV RO IV RO IV V VI VII

 

I get that, but for me, marathons often suffer from formula fatigue. A few films in, and the basic SW formula can start wearing out it's welcome. Throwing RO into the mix provides a nice stylistic respite before returning to the saga style. Add to that the sheer beauty of its transition to ANH, and I think you really should include it.

 

Agreed. It's a revelation, and has given me a fresh look at ROTS. Cut out the Grievous bits and it could be my favorite stretch of Star Wars.

 

We've definitely considered it, and I get what you're saying about formula fatigue, but it still feels... I don't know, proper? To me, at least. I think of the Saga as a whole piece, made up of three trilogies, with each of the nine films all serving a role in building that whole while also functioning as full pieces on their own. Rogue One, on the other hand, is something that exists in the context of the Saga's story but is also set outside of it, and (for me, at least) is something that's best watched separate from it. I feel this allows the core narrative of the Skywalker Saga (to use Lucasfilm's recent term) to shine through and build most clearly, while also allowing Rogue One's unique attributes to exist on their own terms. Also, the three of us have since agreed release order is our preferred way to watch the Saga (unanimous consensus that the movies build on each other most organically in nearly every respect that way), and Rogue One doesn't really cleanly fit in anywhere there, especially not at the end as it would be ideal to finish with The Force Awaken's cliffhanger since we're building up to The Last Jedi.

Again, it has nothing to do with the quality of Rogue One or whether or not I like it; I love it. It's just my personal stance on its place, or lack thereof, in the structure of the Saga as a singular piece comprised of many parts that have an underlying consistency in various respects, and wanting the standalone films to, well, stand alone. If it's any consolation, I'm going to be the same way with the Han Solo film, which I have a sneaking suspicion might end up being my favorite the way Rogue One is yours

So yeah, my order would be:

Saga
IV: A New Hope
V: The Empire Strikes Back
VI: Return of the Jedi
I: The Phantom Menace
II: Attack of the Clones
III: Revenge of the Sith
VII: The Force Awakens
VIII: The Last Jedi
IX: Colin Trevorrow Please Don't **** This Up

Star Wars Stories (No order, watched individually)
Rogue One
Han Solo's Big Adventure
Boba Fett's Birthday Bash
Obi-Wan Kenobi is Never Getting a Movie
Jar Jar Binks: The Biggest Bombad General

 

I think you need to split this between people who have never seen the films and hose who've seen them over and over again.

First time viewers must watch OT first to feel full impact of Vaders reveal: 4,5,6,RO,1,2,3,7

For regular viewers and avid fans: 1,2,3,RO,4,5,6,7

 

I think that anthology films that fill in story gaps will interfere with the running order, while movies that zero in on specific characters will be standalone and watched after the main saga, they will be almost like timeless bytes, while RO will feel out of place anywhere besides being chronological.


To us old-skoolers who grew up with only the OT, the Vader/father twist was outstanding, but to the millennial generation who grew up with the PT and watched it first, they had no idea that Palpatine was Sideous and that revelation was as big a shock to them as the Vader is Luke's father scene was to us, so it's swings and roundabouts. That seems comparatively underwhelming to US, but it's the same huge shock to them, so there is a perfectly fine case to be argued for chronological viewing, it is just as fulfilling and thrilling.